A masked Aadhaar can be shared without revealing the user’s important personal information, including the 12-digit number.
Aadhaar number, which is issued by the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), is a must document to have in India for availing of government subsidies and benefits of various government-run welfare schemes.
However, some people have become a victim of online fraud in the name of online KYC. That’s why, to make Aadhaar more secure, the UIDAI gives you the option of a ‘masked Aadhaar ID’.
A masked Aadhaar can be shared without revealing the user’s important personal information, including the 12-digit number.
Find out how you may prevent misuse with masked Aadhaar and steps to download it.
1. Masked Aadhaar
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Masked Aadhaar number implies replacing of first 8 digits of the Aadhaar number with some characters like “xxxx-xxxx” while only the last 4 digits of the Aadhaar Number are visible. With this, the card cannot be misused even if it is lost or misplaced.
2. Where to use?
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The Masked Aadhaar card can be used for eKYC updates and verification. The Masked Aadhaar card just displays your Aadhaar’s last four digits.
Users can share their Masked Aadhaar for eKYC in places where sharing the complete Aadhaar Number is not necessary.
3. Password protected
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Masked Aadhaar is password-protected. So, you can open the file by entering the first four letters of your name in capital letters and your year of birth in the YYYY format.
4. Steps to download
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Step 1: Login to the official UIDAI website and click on ‘Download Aadhaar’ option;
Step 2: Select Aadhar / VID / Enrollment ID option and tick at masked Aadhaar option
Step 3: Enter the details sought there and click on ‘Request OTP’ option
Step 4: An OTP will be sent on your Aadhaar-registered mobile number
Step 5: Enter the OTP and click on ‘Download Aadhaar’
Step 6: Now, your masked Aadhaar card will become available for download.
