Facebook has acquired the biometric startup Confirm. The company offered an API to enable third party companies to confirm someone’s identity using their government-issued ID, such as a driving licence. So typically, it would be used by an employer to confirm that someone applying for a job was who they claimed to be.

Facebook has not said how it plans to use the tech, but one possible application is to enable users who are locked out of their Facebook accounts because they can’t remember their login credentials to authenticate themselves biometrically to get back in.

In a statement on its website Confirm said: “When we launched Confirm, our mission was to become the markets trusted identity origination platform for which other multifactor verification services can build upon. Now, were ready to take the next step on our journey with Facebook.”
As a result of the acquisition, and the integration of its employees and tech into Facebook, Confirm said all of its current digital ID authentication software offerings will be wound down.