UIDAI to start 'facial recognition feature' for Aadhaar authentication

The Face Authentication Service will be launched by 1 July 2018.

IMAGE REPRESENTATIONAL: AFP

NEW DELHI: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday allowed face recognition as additional means of Aadhaar authentication. This is to be used in combination with existing ways such as fingerprint or iris scan.

For details on #AadhaarFaceAuth , see our circular - https://t.co/k0nG8AWirE https://t.co/vIngxQQRK2

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 15, 2018

The authority said "The UIDAI has decided to enable face authentication infusion mode on registered devices by July 1, 2018 so that people facing difficulty in other biometric authentication (fingerprint and iris) could easily authenticate," In a circular released on Monday, Uidai said “This facility is going to help in inclusive authentication of those who are not able to biometrically authenticate due to their worn out fingerprints, old age or hard work conditions,” ALSO READ: UIDAI introduces ‘Virtual ID’ for Aadhaar cardholders to address privacy concerns It is to be noted that as of now, two modes of biometric authentication, fingerprint authentication and iris authentication, are allowed under Aadhaar. The facility will be available through a camera that are now easily available on laptops and mobiles so no additional hardware will be required. It is also claimed that face authentication with liveliness detection can be used as an additional factor to increase security.