How to download the Masked Aadhaar Card to prevent any misuse

The UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) has started offering a special Aadhaar version dubbed the Masked Aadhaar. The residents can use it for preventing Aadhaar from falling into the hands of the wrong people and getting misused. The masked version of an Aadhaar card will add extra layers of security by displaying only the last four digits while also hiding the first eight digits.

Masked Aadhaar Card to add to the security factor

Masked Aadhaar Number will imply replacing the first 8 digits of the Aadhaar Number with characters like “xxxx-xxxx” while only the last 4 digits of the Aadhaar Number will be visible. UIDAI has warned citizens to not share their Aadhaar Card Number with any individual or organization for risk of misuse.

If a private organization without a UIDAI user license is asking for a copy of your Aadhaar card, you can simply provide them with your masked Aadhaar Number. The Masked Aadhaar Number will only expose the last four digits of your Aadhaar Card Number. However, the government later ended up withdrawing the notification.

How to download Masked Aadhaar Card?

As a result, obtaining or downloading a disguised Aadhaar will be a simple procedure and it’ll involve the Aadhaar holder to complete a few steps on the UIDAI website.

1. Head over to myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and choose the “Login” option.
2. Click on the “Send OTP” option after entering your Aadhaar number and Captcha code.
3. An OTP will get sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number, which you’ll need to input in the form and then clock on “Login”.
4. Select the “Download Aadhaar” option from the Services section.
5. Then, choose the option “Do you want a masked Aadhaar?” present in the “Review your Demographics Data” section.
6. After selecting this option, click on “Download”.
7. You’ll now have the option to download the masked Aadhaar in PDF format.
8. The password-protected masked Aadhaar can be easily opened by inputting the first four letters of your name (similar to Aadhaar) in CAPITAL characters and your year of birth in the “YYYY” format.