Aadhar card holders may soon be able to lock, unlock their biometrics to prevent illegal use

Aadhar card holders may soon be able to lock, unlock their biometrics to prevent illegal use

Amid the privacy concerns on identity theft and illegal use of biometrics, Aadhar card holders may soon be able to permanently lock their biometrics and only unlock it temporarily when needed for biometric authentication. This will be possible after the draft Aadhaar (Authentication and Offline Verification) Regulations, 2021 come into force.


New draft regulations have been prepared by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the central authority for Aadhar, that supersede the Aadhaar (Authentication) Regulations, 2016.


The new norms stipulate that all biometric authentication against any such locked biometric records shall fail with a "No" answer with an appropriate response code. 

An Aadhaar number holder shall be allowed to temporarily unlock his biometrics for authentication, and such temporary unlocking shall not continue beyond the time period specified by the Authority or till completion of the authentication transaction, whichever is earlier.


The Authority may make provisions for Aadhaar number holders to remove such permanent locks at any point in a secure manner.


Similarly, the Authority shall enable an Aadhaar number holder to lock his/her Aadhaar number and unlock it when needed for authentication. (2) All authentication requests using Aadhaar number against any such locked Aadhaar number shall result with a "No" answer with an appropriate response code. (3) In case of a locked Aadhaar, the Authority will allow the resident to authenticate using Virtual ID or other means.

Under the obligations of Offline Verification Seeking Entities, the draft norms say that they shall not collect, use or store Aadhaar number or biometric information of any individual for any purpose or share offline Aadhaar data with any other entity except in accordance with the Act and Regulations framed thereunder.


In case of any investigation involving Aadhaar data related frauds o ..

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