Your Aadhaar biometrics represent your identity. You can use it to avail of various facilities such as government schemes and banking services. However, it is also true that hackers and criminals can use your Aadhaar details to steal your identity, commit crimes in your name, and steal your money. But do not worry. You can protect yourself by locking your Aadhaar biometric.
Keep reading to understand the steps involved with the Aadhaar biometric lock.
Aadhaar biometric lock means that your biometric cannot be used for authenticating your Aadhaar credentials anymore. Thus, it will not be possible to use your Aadhaar biometric for using any services.
Locking your Aadhaar biometric ensures that it cannot be misused by hackers and criminals. Even if they have all the information related to your Aadhaar biometric, they can’t harm you by using it.
You will need your Aadhaar virtual ID to lock your Aadhaar biometric. You can generate your Aadhaar virtual ID by visiting the UIDAI’s official website and clicking on the ‘VID Generator’ tab.
Once you have your Aadhaar virtual ID, here are the steps you have to follow to lock your Aadhaar biometric online:
Step 1: Visit UIDAI’s myAadhaar portal.
Step 2: Scroll down and click on ‘Lock/Unlock Aadhaar’.
Step 3: Read the guidelines and click on ‘Next’.
Step 4: Enter the virtual ID, your full name, Pincode, and captcha, and click on ‘Send OTP’.
Step 5: Complete the OTP verification to lock your Aadhaar biometric.
Here is how you can lock your Aadhaar biometric using the mAadhaar app:
Step 1: Download the mAadhaar app from the Play Store or the App Store.
Step 2: Open the app and log in with your mobile number.
Step 3: Tap on the ‘My Aadhaar’ icon.
Step 4: Enter your Aadhaar number, captcha code and OTP.
Step 5: Tap on the ‘Biometrics Lock’ option to lock your Aadhaar biometrics.
Here are the steps for Aadhaar biometric lock by SMS.
Step 1: Use your Aadhaar-registered phone number to send an SMS to 1947 with the following message:
‘GET OTP <space> last 4 digits of your Aadhaar number.’
Step 2: You will get an OTP on your phone.
Step 3: Again, send a message to 1947 with the following message
‘LOCKUID <space> last 4 digits of your Aadhaar number <space> 6-digit OTP’.
Remember that if your mobile number has been used to register multiple Aadhaar numbers, in the SMS, you will have to enter the last 8 digits of your Aadhaar number instead of the last 4 digits.
If an Aadhaar authentication is done by using your biometrics after you have locked your Aadhaar card, then the system will show the ‘330’ error code. It means that biometric authentication cannot be done as the Aadhaar card is locked.
Overall, we have covered the importance of locking your Aadhaar card and the different ways of doing it. The Aadhaar biometric lock can be done using the mAadhaar app, by logging into the UIDAI portal or by sending an SMS to 1947. Once you have locked your Aadhaar card, it will be impossible for anyone to misuse your Aadhaar card.
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