Masked Aadhaar

In keeping the privacy issues of individuals, the UIDAI has come up with a different version of Aadhaar card called the Masked Aadhaar. A masked Aadhaar helps an individual to mask the first eight digits of the normal Aadhaar card, while the other four digits will be visible. There are total twelve digits in the aadhaar card. The masked characters in the masked aadhaar are shown by cross sign “XXXX-XXXX” prior to the visible ones.

When an individual thinks of downloading this version of the Aadhaar card, his/ her photo, demographic information, QR code and all the other details will be present on the screen. This, masked aadhaar, is only signed by the UDIAI; therefore, there is no need to worry about the acceptance or legibility. 

In today’s time, the version of masked aadhaar is used where an individual have to provide Aadhaar only as an identity proof. He/ she can provide his/ her masked aadhaar to verify the photo along with the last four digits of the unique ID. 

Features of Masked Aadhaar 

• The masked aadhaar are used in the place of the general aadhaar card to protect any personal information of the individual. The features of masked aadhaar are as follows: 
• A masked aadhaar shows the 12- digit Aadhaar card number as XXXX-XXXX-3427 (in case the last four digits of the aadhaar card number are 3427). The first eight digits of the Aadhaar Card number are kept hidden whereas the last four digits are kept visible. 

A masked aadhaar entitles the other necessary information like name, date of birth, photograph, etc. of the holder. This makes it possible for the masked aadhaar to be accepted as an address proof or identification in the financial institutions. 

Benefits of Masked Aadhaar

The benefits of Masked Aadhaar are as follows:

• A masked aadhaar gives full privacy requirements to the usage of the Aadhaar card. An Aadhar card holder avails many benefits after downloading a masked aadhaar. 
• A masked aadhaar safeguards the individual’s personal information that is linked to the aadhaar card number. 
• An aadhaar card holder person can use their masked aadhaar cards for eKYC i,e. where sharing the full aadhar card details is not necessary. The protected eight digits of the Aadhaar card prevent the data breach of any personal information of the cardholder. 
• A masked aadhar can be easily downloaded from the official portal of the UIDAI. The electronic copies of the e-Aadhaar are always password protected. 

How to download Masked Aadhaar Card?

The masked aadhaar can be easily downloaded from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The steps are mentioned below:

Step 1: Visit the official portal of UIDAI and select your preferable language. 

Step 2: Select “My Aadhaar” option from the main menu and click on “Download Aadhaar” window.

Step 3: Follow any of the following methods to download masked aadhaar. It is important to note that the first two methods are only for the residents of India. 

Method 1: Aadhaar Number

Step 1: Enter the 12- digit aadhaar number of your aadhaar card along with full name and pin code. 

Step 2: Choose the box with the label “I want a masked aadhaar?” to choose masked aadhaar. 

Step 3: After filling all the correct details, the applicant is required to input an OTP.

Step 4: After entering the OTP, the individual has to select the option of downloading a masked aadhaar. 

The masked aadhaar of the individual would be available for downloading the post verification. 

Method 2: Enrolment Number

Step 1: An individual has to use his/ her 28- digit enrolment number along with the full name and pin- code.

Step 2: Choose the box with the label “I want a masked aadhaar?” to choose masked aadhaar.

Step 3: After filling all the correct details, the applicant is required to input an OTP.

Step 4: After entering the OTP, the individual has to select the option of downloading a masked aadhaar. 

The masked aadhaar of the individual would be available for downloading the post verification. 

Method 3: Virtual ID

Step 1: An individual needs to enter his/ her 16- digit virtual ID to download the masked aadhaar. 

Step 2: Choose the box with the label “I want a masked aadhaar?” to choose masked aadhaar.

Step 3: After filling all the correct details, the applicant is required to input an OTP.

Step 4: After entering the OTP, the individual has to select the option of downloading a masked aadhaar. 

The masked aadhaar of the individual would be available for downloading the post verification. 

Masked aadhaar password

The downloaded masked aadhaar would be always password protected. It can be easily accessed from any device by just entering the eight- digit password. The password is a mixture of the first four letters of the name and the last four digits of the birth year of the aadhaar cardholder. The letters are supposed to be in capital form only. 

For example, in case the name of the cardholder is Siddanth and their birth year is 1999. The eight digit password of their masked aadhaar would be: SIDD1999.