If This Reaches the Right People, It Could Genuinely Transform Digital India
An idea for a permission-based Aadhaar authentication system that could simplify verification, reduce OTP friction, and make Digital India services more seamless.
We already have UPI, Aadhaar, and DigiLocker, yet every time verifying somewhere it is the same loop, enter mobile number, wait for OTP, upload documents, repeat KYC again and again. It feels unnecessary when the infrastructure already exists to make this seamless. I got this idea after using the new Aadhaar app, which verified me using just my face. That made me think, if the government can already verify identity using face authentication, why not expose this as a secure, permission based system for apps?
Imagine a simple Sign in with Aadhaar, just like Sign in with Google. Apps can use it in two ways. First, a verification only mode where the app just asks, “Is this person really XYZ?” or is this person really 18+? etc.. and gets a yes or no. No personal data shared. Second, a data sharing mode where the app requests specific details like name or address, and the user clearly sees and approves it. After a face verification, only those details are shared. Nothing more. No third party app ever gets the Aadhaar number.
This would make things like bank KYC extremely simple. Tap Sign in with Aadhaar, verify your face, and done. Everything already linked can be verified instantly. On PC, this could work like passkeys. You log in on your computer, your phone gets a prompt, you verify, and you are in. You do face verification on phone and done.., OTP and DigiLocker can still exist as fallback options.
Yes, there are privacy and security concerns, but with strict APIs, transparency, and possibly an independent authority, this can be handled. In fact, this could improve privacy by sharing only what is needed. Digital India already has the infrastructure. It just needs this missing system. Done right, this could be as big as UPI.