The newspaper report saying that Aadhaar details of a billion people were up for sale for just Rs 500 has been denied by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), however, saying that it “seemed like an instance of misuse of the grievance redressal search facility”, reiterating that the biometric information was “safe and secure”. For precaution, an individual can add an additional layer of protection to Aadhaar biometrics details by doing it manually on the official website.
The UIDAI has enabled a system on its official website http://www.uidai.gov.in that allows the residents to lock and temporarily unlock their biometrics. The UIDAI says that this was done to protect privacy and confidentiality of Resident’s Biometrics Data. Here’s how you can do it.
1. Go to UIDAI’s official website: http://www.uidai.gov.in
2. Click on the link Lock/Unlock Biometrics on the homepage
3. By login in and using the OTP, you can lock or unlock your Biometrics data
Locked Biometrics ensures the Aadhaar holder will not be able to use their Biometrics (fingerprints/iris) for authentications thus preventing potential misuse, the UIDAI said.
Aadhaar — the 12-digit random number — has already embarked upon to become the identity of over 1.17 billion Indians and their financial activities. The Narendra Modi government has been advocating a mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services with an aim to bring more transparency into the system, which led to a slew of petitions in the Supreme Court questioning the Aadhaar scheme, its mandatory linking and its existence as the money bill.
In a landmark judgement this August, the Supreme Court ruled that privacy was a fundamental right of citizens. As many as 27 petitions have been filed in different courts to strike down the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with different documents. The Supreme Court may give the final verdict on Aadhaar on January 17, while extending the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar linking with various services to March 31.