The Centre has issued a new advisory calling on citizens not to share copies of their Aadhaar cards.
In a notification issued on Friday, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has advised “Do not share photocopy of your Aadhaar with any organisations because it can be misused.”
It said that people have the alternative of using a 'masked' Aadhaar that displays only the last four digits of the 12-digit number. The UIDAI advisory explained how the masked Aadhaar could be obtained. The UIDAI website explains “Mask Aadhaar option allows you to mask your Aadhaar number in your downloaded e-Aadhaar. Masked Aadhaar number implies replacing of first 8 digits of Aadhaar number with some characters like ‘xxxx-xxxx’ while only last 4 digits of the Aadhaar Number are visible.”
It called on people to avoid using public computers at internet cafes or kiosks to download their e-Aadhaar. UIDAI reminded that only organisations with a valid user licence could ask people for their Aadhaar to establish identity.
The UIDAI advisory said unlicensed private entities like hotels and cinema halls were not permitted to collect or keep copies of Aadhaar cards, noting it was an offence under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. It called on people to verify whether private entities seeking Aadhaar details had user licences from UIDAI.
