'We are not collecting Aadhaar data,' Facebook clarifies in a blog post

Shortly after Facebook was spotted with an Aadhaar based feature on its platform, the social media giant came out with a statement asserting that it has no plans of "integration or authentication with Aadhaar".

Facebook also stated that it is not linking the social media accounts of its users to the 12-digit biometric identifier.

"We are not collecting Aadhaar data and do not require people to enter their Aadhaar name when they sign up to Facebook," it noted in a blog post.

Previously, media reports stated that Facebook was asking some users to put in their Aadhaar information as part of a small test.

The featured popped up only for new Facebook signups. 

Facebook said the goal of the test was to help new users understand how to sign up to Facebook with their real name.

Facebook's move is also being seen as a measure to check the increasing number of fake accounts on the platform. 

"This is an optional prompt that we were testing. People were not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card, and there is no integration or authentication with Aadhaar," Facebook added.

The US-based company said the test ran with a small number of users in India and has now concluded.

India is home to the second largest market for Facebook after the US with over 240 million users. 

(With inputs from PTI)