Govt retracts ‘do not share Aadhaar’ advisory

The government, shortly after issuing a press release cautioning citizens on sharing photocopy of Aadhaar card with organisations, withdrew the notification with immediate effect.

“This is in pursuant of the Press Release dated 27 May 2022 by the Bengaluru Regional Office, UIDAI. However, in view of the possibility of the misinterpretation of the Press Release, the same stands withdrawn with immediate effect,” the government clarified.

The clarification advised exercising normal prudence in using and sharing UIDAI Aadhaar numbers and said that the Aadhaar Identity Authentication ecosystem has provided adequate features for protecting and safeguarding the identity and privacy of the Aadhaar holder.

In the earlier notice issued by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the government had advised people to not to share photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organisation and recommended using masked Aadhaar which can be downloaded from the User License from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) official website.

"Do not share photocopy of your Aadhaar with any organisation as it can be misused. Alternatively, please use a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last four digits of your Aadhaar number," the statement had said.

It had also advised avoiding the use of public computers at internet cafés or kiosks to download e-Aadhaar. "If you do so, please ensure that you delete all the downloaded copies of e-Aadhaar permanently from that computer," the release had said.

The UIDAI had stated that unlicensed private entities like hotels and film halls are not allowed to collect or keep copies of Aadhaar card. It is an offence under the Aadhaar Act 2016, the statement said.

It had also directed that only organisations with a valid User License from UIDAI can use Aadhaar for establishing the identity of a person. “If a private entity demands to see your Aadhaar card, or seeks a photocopy of your Aadhaar card, please verify that they have a valid User License from the UIDAI,” the government had said.