Bangalore: It would be a thing of past when people wanted to get called by the name they fancy about; especially on Facebook. Lately Facebook is on a campaign to weed out the users with fake names, as per the company’s clause.

The FB users may come across a pop up with heading “Help Us Make Facebook Better”, stating “Please help us understand how people are using Facebook. Your response is anonymous and won’t affect your friend’s account. Is this your friend’s real name?” The window also has user’s profile picture, name, and current location, along with tick options; Yes; No; I don’t know this person; I don’t want to answer. 

Facebook official policy states that, users are required to use real names as per their identification card or their account may get deleted. However the user can opt for nickname which applies to the first or middle name; and there’s option for other names or extra professional information in alternate name section of user account.

 According to the company the survey is not to enforce its real name policy, but to collect information about how the site is being used.

 Facebook spokesperson Fred Wolens said “This was a limited survey we have already concluded, we are always looking to gauge how people use Facebook and represent them for better design our product and systems. We analysed these surveys only using aggregate data and responses had zero impact on any user’s account.”

Facebook’s findings state that, approximately 8.7 percent of the 955 million user accounts are fake. Nearly 46 million are duplicate accounts, 23 million are classified incorrectly and about 14 million have been created by “undesirable” people like spammers.

But then the question pops up, if FB is not cutting down on fake accounts, then why this survey at all?