Aadhaar Gets Sandbox, New App as Face Auth Tops 29 Crore Uses

India’s Aadhaar ecosystem is entering a new phase of evolution, with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) confirming plans for an Aadhaar sandbox, a revamped Aadhaar mobile app, and rapid growth in face-based authentication, which has already crossed 29 crore transactions. Together, these developments signal a strategic shift from identity verification at scale to innovation, usability, and trust-led adoption.

The proposed Aadhaar sandbox is a significant move aimed at encouraging controlled innovation. It will allow startups, fintechs, banks, government departments, and developers to test Aadhaar-enabled use cases in a secure, simulated environment without accessing live citizen data. This is critical for accelerating innovation while maintaining strict privacy and compliance safeguards, especially under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.

Meanwhile, the revamped Aadhaar app is expected to improve citizen experience by offering greater control, transparency, and convenience. Features under consideration include simplified identity sharing, enhanced consent management, masked Aadhaar usage, and smoother authentication workflows. The goal is to reduce friction in everyday services—banking, telecom, healthcare, travel—while minimizing the need for physical documents or photocopies.

The most notable milestone, however, is the explosive growth of face-based Aadhaar authentication, which has crossed 29 crore transactions. This reflects rising acceptance of contactless, biometric-first identity verification, particularly for welfare delivery, financial inclusion, and mobile-based services. Face authentication is increasingly seen as complementary to fingerprint and iris scans, especially in scenarios where fingerprints fail due to age, occupation, or wear.

Strategically, UIDAI’s push aligns with India’s broader Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) vision—making identity, payments, and data exchange interoperable, inclusive, and scalable. At the same time, UIDAI is emphasizing privacy-by-design, minimal data exposure, and purpose-based authentication to maintain public trust.

As Aadhaar matures from an identity platform into an innovation enabler, the focus is clear: secure scale, citizen control, and responsible digital trust—a model increasingly watched by governments worldwide.