Govt Assures Biometric Data for SIM Registration Stored by Dukcapil, Not Mobile Operators

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) has assured the public that mobile operators will not store customers’ facial photos under the new biometric verification system for SIM card registration, which becomes mandatory on 1 July 2026. Director of Digital Ecosystem Control at Kemkomdigi, Dany Suwardany, explained that facial photos are encrypted and validated directly by the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil) of the Ministry of Home Affairs. “Mobile operators do not store customers’ facial photos. What they do is encrypt the facial photo and then validate it with Dukcapil,” Deny stated during a discussion in South Jakarta on Tuesday. He explained that customer data validation is carried out by Dukcapil, after which the mobile operator receives a notification confirming the match between the customer’s facial scan and the data recorded at Dukcapil. Deny added that the facial biometric data recorded at Dukcapil is stored when citizens create their electronic Identity Cards (e-KTP). “So it is not true that operators store customers’ facial photo data,” he stressed. Echoing this sentiment, Executive Director of the Indonesian Cellular Telecommunications Association (ATSI) Marwan O. Baasir confirmed that mobile operators guarantee the security of customer data. He explained that the implementation of biometric registration has applied international security standards ISO 27001 and ISO 27701. Furthermore, mobile operators continuously ensure their customer data security systems will not suffer breaches. The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has mandated that all prepaid SIM card registrations starting 1 July 2026 will rely solely on biometric verification methods and will no longer use the Population Identification Number (NIK). Director General of Digital Ecosystem at Kemkomdigi, Edwin Abdullah, said the measure is the government’s way of protecting the public from mobile number registration practices using other people’s identities, which are often carried out by cybercriminals. “Starting 1 July, new customer registration must use biometrics. Therefore, we ask all operators to comply with this provision and immediately stop all activations that still use NIK and Family Card number validation without biometric verification,” said Edwin.