The new Aadhaar app has been around for a while now, and there’s a highly underutilised feature that not many people use – the Aadhaar biometric lock, a feature designed to help Indians fight against digital fraud.
The new app, which was revealed a few months ago, took a different approach to presenting, sharing, and managing Aadhaar data. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now enables Aadhaar holders to have more control over how their data is used and shared for verifications across many situations without needing to visit the Aadhaar centers. With biometric data now becoming a central verification method for Aadhaar services, the new app is crucial to keep your details safe from prying eyes and malicious actors.
With the new app, users can now manage their fingerprints, iris scans, and face authentication services with just a few taps. However, a majority of India’s population is unaware of this feature, despite rising cases of Aadhaar-related fraud, including misuse in banking, SIM card issuance, AEPS transactions, and government services.
Aadhaar biometric lock: How does it help
When the biometric lock is enabled, it blocks any authentication relying on biometrics. Hence, fraudsters with access to an individual’s Aadhaar number or physical card cannot complete fingerprint, iris, or facial verification at banks, telecom outlets, ATMs, or other service points.
With biometrics disabled, users can still make verification processes via old-school methods – such as OTP-based authentication via registered mobile numbers or Virtual ID (VID).
The biometric lock/unlock feature provides granular control, as users can lock biometrics permanently until they choose to unlock them temporarily (often for a short window, like 10 minutes, for a specific transaction) or disable the lock entirely. This puts citizens in command of their most sensitive personal data.
With incidents of cloned fingerprints, unauthorised authentications, and data leaks rising, locking biometrics acts as a protective barrier. Even if someone obtains your Aadhaar details, they cannot exploit biometrics without you unlocking the biometric data access. Experts recommend keeping the biometrics locked unless absolutely necessary.
Aadhaar biometric lock: How to lock/unlock this feature
The process is straightforward via the new Aadhaar app from UIDAI. Here are some steps to make it happen.
– The Aadhaar app requires you to log in with your Aadhaar number to create your account on your device permanently. After the initial login process, you need to provide a 6-digit PIN to log in to the app.
– Once you provide the 6-digit PIN and log in, the app shows four tabs at the bottom.
– Click on the Security tab.
– The first option on top of the tab page shows “Biometric Lock”.
– Once you tap on the tile, the Aadhaar app confirms whether you want to lock your biometrics going forward. Click on “yes, lock biometrics” to lock the biometric data.
– You can follow the same process for unlocking the biometric data.
The Aadhaar app also allows you to update the address data as well as keep tab on other requests.