You don't need to share your Aadhaar number with anyone: Official

UIDAI announced the creation of a "virtual ID" which can be used in lieu of the 12-digit Aadhaar number at the time of authentication of any services.

UIDAI also limited the information visible to authentication agencies. Image source: IANS

Citizens will have the choice to never disclose their 12-digit Aadhaar number even to government agencies mandated by the law to store the unique identity number, according to a top official in the Central agency which announced a series of measures on Wednesday to strengthen the security of personal information stored on its database, reports ET.

"Even to the Income Tax department or other agencies required by law to map Aadhaar, people don't have to give their Aadhaar number and can authenticate using the Virtual ID," Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) told ET in an interview.

The new measures come into effect from June of this year. "Aadhaar will not come on the front-end device unless the customer gives it by choice," added Pandey. Even during activities such as filing for tax returns online, giving the virtual ID number in lieu of Aadhaar will make the transaction go through.

UIDAI announced the creation of a "virtual ID" which can be used in lieu of the 12-digit Aadhaar number at the time of authentication of any services.

UIDAI also limited the information visible to authentication agencies. These steps are expected to tighten the privacy and prevent profiling of people by combining dozens of databases linked to Aadhaar in the country.

According to the report, the citizens will also have the choice for the reverse — which is to not generate their virtual IDs and continue using their Aadhaar numbers each time.

"(But) we have ensured that even service providers who are not supposed to store Aadhaar will be able to authenticate using it but their networks will not be able to save the information in any form." Pandey told ET that in case service providers resort to unscrupulous means of retrieving the Aadhaar number, they will be conducting a "criminal offence" and will be punished by the law.