Guide to Lock or Unlock Aadhaar Biometric Online to Protect Your Money

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Guide to Lock or Unlock Aadhaar Biometric Online to Protect Your Money

Registrationwala

It has been seen in previous years that financial frauds are stealing biometric information from Aadhaar cards and it is recommended that people keep their biometric information secure. For this, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has provided an option for people to lock or unlock their biometric information. 

 

However, the government this year announced that people must link their Aadhaar card with a PAN card, so it can help in the process of verifying an individual’s identity during financial transitions. To enhance the security of Aadhaar, now UIDAI provides a lock or unlock service for Aadhaar Biometrics online. Below is a process to lock your UID online through the website or mAadhaar app.

What is Biometric Locking or Unlocking?

Biometric locking or unlocking allows the Aadhaar holder to lock or temporarily unlock their biometrics. This facility will strengthen the privacy and confidentiality of Resident’s Biometrics Data. The fingerprint, iris, and face as a biometric modality will be locked and you cannot perform Aadhaar authentication. 

 

After locking the biometrics, you ensure that no one can use your details for authentication which helps you to protect your information. Also, no one can perform biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for the Aadhaar holder.

 

The Aadhaar number holders who have registered mobile numbers can lock their biometrics. After locking biometrics if anyone uses the UID for invoking any of the Authentication services using a biometric modality. A specific error code '330' indicating biometrics are locked will appear and the entity will not be able to perform the biometric authentication. This is a great step taken by the government to strengthen the privacy and confidentiality of Resident’s Biometrics  Data.

What is Aadhaar Lock or Unclock?

To strengthen the security of the resident's Aadhaar number, the UIDAI has provided an option to lock or unlock the Aadhaar Number. People can avail of this option through the UIDAI website or the mAadhaar app. Locking the Aadhaar prevents any form of authentication using the UID, UID token, and VID for biometrics, demographic, and OTP modality.

 

But you can validate your Aadhaar number by unlocking the card through the UIDAI website or mAadhaar app. After unlocking the UID you can perform all the tasks which you cannot do when it's locked.

How to Lock Aadhaar Biometrics Online?

The following are the steps that must follow to lock the biometrics in the Aadhaar card.

Step 1: Before choosing any option to lock/ unlock Aadhaar, first generate a 16-digit Virtual ID (VID). Through VID only you can lock or unlock your Aadhaar card details. To generate your VID you can use Virtual ID service from the Dashboard or by sending an SMS to 1947. There are two options to generate VID, and these are as follows:

  1. Generate VID: Enter your Aadhaar number and captcha, and click on send OTP. Enter OTP and you will successfully generate your VID.
  2. Retrieve VID: The last four digits of your UID.

Step 2: Choose an option from the two; Lock Aadhaar If you want to lock your Aadhaar card, enter details such as virtual ID, full name, pincode, and captcha. Click on Generate OTP.

Step 3: Enter the OTP that you receive on your mobile number and click on the login button.

Step 4: Enter the four-digit security code mentioned on the screen and click ‘enable’. Your biometrics are locked and you can unlock them anytime.

Most people forget their virtual ID and struggle to generate it again after locking their UID. Send an SMS to 1947 from the Aadhaar Register mobile number, RVID Space last 4 or 8 digits of UID. Ex:- RVID 1234.

How to Unlock Aadhaar Biometrics Online?

Step 1: After login, click on the unlock button. Enter your Aadhaar number and security code. 

Step 2: Click on the ‘send OTP’ button and register with the mobile number.

Step 3: Enter the OTP in the space provided. If you want to temporarily unlock the biometrics, enter the security code and click on the unlock button. In case you want to permanently disable the service then you can click on the ‘Disable’ button.

Your biometrics will be unlocked and the locking date and time will appear on the screen when it will be unlocked automatically. In case of permanent disable, it will not start automatically, until you lock it again.

How to Lock or Unlock Aadhaar Biometrics through mAadhaar App?

  1. Download the mAadhaar app through the Android or iOS appstore.
  2. Open the app and log in with your Aadhaar number.
  3. On the upper right corner, select the three dots and then select the biometric option. 
  4. Select the option lock or unlock the Aadhaar biometric option. Click on complete the process.
  5. OTP will sent and automatically fetched by the application.
  6. Your biometrics get locked or in case of unlocking. Approve the process after which your biometric gets unlocked temporarily for 10 minutes.

Note: you cannot disable the Aadhaar biometric option through the app, for that you have to choose the website method.

 

Conclusion

To conclude, the safety of Aadhaar users will increase and the chances of fraud will decrease. As the fingerprints and iris scan are locked no one can access the information. Only the Aadhaar card holders can lock or unlock the services.

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