The Shanghai government has denied rumors that the next generation of China’s official IDs will come with GPS-tracking chips and integrate banking and social security information into a single card.

On Tuesday, domestic media outlet TechWeb had published an article claiming that China’s third-generation ID cards would incorporate GPS technology, supposedly to make it easier for people to track down their lost cards. The TechWeb article also said that the ID cards would be linked to bank accounts, as well as health and social security data. A 2011 report by The Beijing News noted that the idea for technologically enhanced IDs was proposed during that year’s “two sessions” political meetings.

“There’s no such news — and if there were, it would have been announced through the official channels,” said a woman who answered Sixth Tone’s phone call to the Shanghai Public Service Hotline.

By Wednesday afternoon, a Weibo hashtag translating to “new functions of the third-generation resident ID card” had been viewed over 160 million times, with many netizens expressing concerns that the rumored capabilities would violate their privacy or compromise their finances. (Image: VCG)