India Eases Aadhaar Authentication Restrictions, Raises Privacy Concerns

India has relaxed restrictions on its Aadhaar authentication service, a digital identity verification framework linked to the biometrics of over 1.4 billion people, to allow businesses offering services such as e-commerce, travel, hospitality, and healthcare to use the verification system to authenticate their customers. However, this update has sparked concerns over privacy, as New Delhi has yet to define the guidelines it will follow to prevent the misuse of individuals’ biometric IDs.

New Amendment Introduced

On Friday, the Indian IT ministry introduced the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Amendment Rules, 2025, to amend the legislation introduced in 2020 as a result of a Supreme Court judgment that restricted the access of private entities seeking Aadhaar data. The new amendment comes nearly two years after the Indian government amended the Aadhaar Act in 2019 to enable voluntary authentication based on Aadhaar. However, this amendment has been challenged and is currently pending in the Supreme Court.

Concerns Over Misuse

Prasanna S, an advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court, who was among the advocates fighting for the Right to Privacy and had challenged the Aadhaar Act, stated that the amendment attempts to "re-legislate" the struck-down Section 57. He expressed concerns that the expanded access to Aadhaar authentication could lead to a "multifold" increase in the risk of exclusion.

Risk of Exclusion

Sidharth Deb, associate director for public policy at the New Delhi-based consultancy firm The Quantum Hub, also raised concerns about the expansion of Aadhaar authentication, stating that once ID documentation or ID instruments are linked to accessing digital services, there is always the risk of exclusion. He emphasized the need to define voluntary authentication to ensure that citizens have as much autonomy as possible to access digital services in a frictionless manner.

Next Steps

TechCrunch has reached out to the Indian IT ministry to discuss the key concerns raised by policy experts and the measures in place to prevent Aadhaar’s misuse. The ministry’s response will be updated when available.