With Aadhaar becoming pervasive in all walks of life, and unsubstantiated concerns cropping up every day about the security of Aadhaar holders’ personal information, UIDAI has introduced a nifty feature that allows Aadhaar holders to restrict anyone from accessing their demographic / e-KYC data by “locking” their biometrics.
Here’s everything you need to know about “locking” and “unlocking” your Aadhaar biometrics:
What does “locking” Aadhaar biometrics mean?
Before we begin, let’s first understand what does “Aadhaar Authentication / e-KYC” exactly mean. Simply put, Aadhaar Authentication/ e-KYC is a service offered by UIDAI that allows the authentication-requesting entity to access and download an Aadhaar holder’s demographic data (Photograph, Name, Gender, Date of Birth and Address) that is available in UIDAI’s records, after validating the biometric identity of the Aadhaar holder.
For example, when you apply for a new Mobile connection, instead of opting for the traditional method of asking your personal ID documents for verification, your Mobile Service Provider may simply ask your Aadhaar Number and scan your iris / fingerprints to verify and download your personal details available with UIDAI. These personal records are securely stored in UIDAI’s systems and are shared only with specific entities that are authorised by UIDAI.
Thus, “Biometrics Locking / Unlocking” in the context of Aadhaar Authentication means restricting your iris and fingerprints data from entities requesting your personal details for authentication.
Why did UIDAI introduce this feature?
Off late, there have been unfounded media reports citing leakages of Aadhaar holders’ personal information. While the UIDAI has categorically denied any data breaches of the Aadhaar holders’ biometric records, it nonetheless introduced the biometric “locking” / “unlocking” feature to allay people’s fears.
So, should you “lock” your Aadhaar biometrics? In our opinion, you should “lock” your Aadhaar biometrics only if you are paranoid about data security and don’t mind the inconvenience of unlocking your biometrics every time you need to undergo Aadhaar authentication (more on this later).
How to “lock” and “unlock” your Aadhaar biometrics?
“Locking” and “unlocking” your Aadhaar biometrics data can be done only through UIDAI’s website or the mAadhaar Mobile App. Here, let’s look how you can “lock” and “unlock” your Aadhaar biometrics through UIDAI’s website:
A] “Locking” your biometrics:
Step 1: Visit https://resident.uidai.gov.in/biometric-lock and you’ll see the below window:
Step 2: Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar Number, the Captcha Code (Security Code), and the OTP received on your mobile number registered with UIDAI when you enrolled for Aadhaar.
Once the system verifies your login credentials, you’ll be greeted with the below screen:
Step 3: Enter the Security Code and click on the ‘Enable’ button. That’s it! Your Aadhaar biometrics will now be “locked” and you’ll see the below confirmation screen:
B] “Unlocking” your biometrics:
“Unlocking” your Aadhaar biometrics is just as easy as locking them:
Step 1: Repeat Step 1 mentioned above to login to your Aadhaar account and you’ll see the below screen:
Step 2: Enter the Security Code and click on the ‘Unlock’ button. Voila! Your Aadhaar biometrics will now be “unlocked” and you’ll see the below confirmation screen:
Once you “unlock” your Aadhaar biometrics, an important point to be noted here is that your biometrics will be “unlocked” only temporarily. They will be automatically locked after 10 mins!
This means, that every time you wish to authenticate your Aadhaar biometrics, you will have to manually “unlock” your biometrics by logging in to UIDAI’s website and repeating all the 3 steps mentioned above. Quite an inconvenience if you are in a place with patchy / no internet access!
Now you know why we said earlier that you should “lock” your biometrics only if you are paranoid about data security and don’t mind the frequent inconveniences of “unlocking” them every time. 🙂
So, what do you do if you have locked your Aadhaar biometrics and are fed up with the frequent process of “unlocking” them every time? There’s a permanent, easy way out – “Disable” your Aadhaar biometric lock. Here’s how:
Step 1: Repeat Step 1 mentioned above to log in to your Aadhaar account, and click the grey coloured “Disable” button next to the green “Unlock” button; here’s the screen again:
Once you “disable” your Aadhaar biometric lock, you’ll see the below confirmation:
Your Aadhaar biometrics are now “unlocked” permanently i.e. until you “lock” them again manually.
Hope this step-by-step guide helped you in your Aadhaar biometrics “locking” / “unlocking” efforts. Feel free to get in touch with us if there are any confusions, or just to say “hi”. 🙂
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Regards
Team ECS.