India’s Digiyatra: saves time, but at what cost?

India's Digiyatra program lets airport travelers use facial recognition instead of physical documents to pass security checkpoints. Built on W3C standards with self-sovereign identity, verifiable credentials, and a distributed ledger, it stores biometric data locally and purges it from airport systems within 24 hours. While users report significant time savings and a smoother experience, a 2024 survey at Delhi airport found nearly a third of enrollees signed up without realizing it — a textbook dark pattern. The system is jointly owned by the Indian government and private airports, and though officially voluntary, the enrollment process has been criticized for bypassing informed consent. The piece frames this as a broader lesson for product builders: automation and convenience are powerful, but when they rely on deceptive UX rather than clear consent, they erode user trust and autonomy.