Facebook acquires biometric ID verification startup Confirm.io

Technology giant Facebook has acquired biometric ID verification startup Confirm.io, according to a report by TechCrunch. According the report, Confirm.io will shut down as the team as well as the technology will be absorbed by Facebook and could help users who have been locked out of their accounts.

The startup offers an application programming interface (API) that enables other companies to verify a user's government-issued identification card.

The Boston-based startup will cease to operate as both its team and technology are rolled into Facebook, where it could help users who are locked out of their accounts.

The startup had raised at least USD 4 million from investors since inception three years ago.

By 2015, the startup advanced its forensics used to gather information from an identity (ID) card, smartphone biometrics and facial recognition to authenticate a user's identity before the startup deleted the personal data.

Clients, including food delivery service Doordash used Confirm.io to verify its drivers, while Notarize used it to authenticate the identity of customers looking to file documents.

Facebook could potentially deploy the technology in places like India, where it has started testing a new feature for new Indian users that aimed at encouraging them to enter the site using their real names.

The new feature on the popular social media site is aimed at bringing a check on the rising number of fake accounts.

Facebook's new test feature, which is not mandatory, also prompts new users to sign up for an account by giving their original name. The prompt comes up and asks for 'name as per Aadhaar' when a user tries to open an account.

However, according to reports, not everyone attempting to open an account is receiving this prompt.

"We want to make sure people can use the names they're known by on Facebook, and can easily connect with friends and family. This is a small test where we provide additional language when people sign up for an account to say that using the name on their Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise them. This is an optional prompt which we are testing, people are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card," a spokesperson from Facebook was quoted saying in the report.