You can lock or unlock the biometrics of your Aadhaar via the official UIDAI portal or through a simple SMS. Aadhaar card number (UID) or VID can be used.
Aadhaar cards have become a key piece of our residential identity and day-to-day lives in terms of work, loans, homes, utilities and so on. With that being the case, maintaining one’s security of information becomes the most important aspect of owning an Aadhaar card. Recently, the issuing body for Aadhaar, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) rolled out a slew of new changes and updates to the facilities for cardholders. These upgrades allow cardholders to perform the task of securing the information and the card in a quick and effective fashion. One of these new feature categories is the locking mechanism of the Aadhaar. This can be done by locking one’s UID or via biometric locking.
Locking helps secure your personal information and conduct business in a secure fashion through the UIDAI platform. Here is how you can go about it.
Locking and Unlocking the Aadhaar Card
Step 1: Go to the UIDAI official website at uidai.gov.in
Step 2: Go to the Aadhaar Services section that is found in the drop-down menu under the ‘My Aadhaar’ option and select the ‘Aadhaar Lock and Unlock Services’.
Step 3: You will then be taken to another page, where you need to click on the ‘Lock UID’ option.
Step 4: Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar card number also known as a UID. Then enter your name and area pin code in the given fields. Once you have done that, click on the ‘Verify’ option. (To verify make sure you enter the security code.)
Step 5: Click the ‘Send OTP’ option and then you will need to enter the One Time Password (OTP) that is sent to your registered phone number.
With that done, your Aadhaar is locked and secured. In order to reverse that and unlock the Aadhaar card, cardholders will need their virtual IDs or VID number. In the event that you forgot your VID and need it again, you can obtain it easily via a simple SMS.
The format is as follows: RVID (Space) the last 4 or 8 digits of your Aadhaar card. Once your VID is with you, enter it along with a security code. Then all you need to do is click on ‘Send OTP’ or select ‘TOTP’ and submit. With this process, you will have successfully unlocked your Aadhaar card.
Locking and Unlocking Biometric Data on Aadhaar
Locking one’s biometric data includes all the same steps for the locking of the UID itself. The only thing that differs when it comes to the method, is the unlocking process. Locking one’s Aadhaar means that the entirety of the services is locked. Similarly, when unlocking the biometrics, one will need to unlock the entire Aadhaar. For this process, just follow the steps mentioned above.
If you want to take an alternative route, you can perform the locking and unlocking of your Aadhaar biometrics via a simple SMS feature. Two SMS are required to be sent for this facility.
If you are using your Aadhaar number then the format is as follows:
SMS 1: GETOTP (SPACE) Aadhaar number’s last 4 digits
SMS 2: ENABLEBIOLOCK (SPACE) Aadhaar number’s last 4 digits (SPACE) the 6-digit OTP that you will receive.
If you are using your VID instead:
SMS 1: GETOTP (SPACE) the last 6 digits of your VID are needed.
SMS 2: ENABLEBIOLOCK (SPACE) the last 6 digits of your VID (SPACE) the 6-digit OTP.
In event that multiple dependents’ Aadhaar Numbers are linked to the same mobile number, and when the last 4 digits of the Aadhaar Numbers are the same for at least 2 dependents, then the second SMS to be sent as ENABLEBIOLOCK (SPACE) Aadhaar number’s last 8 digits (SPACE) 6-digit OTP. For the VID approach use the format: ENABLEBIOLOCK (SPACE) Last 10 digits of the VID (SPACE) 6-digit OTP.
The same follows for unlocking the card via SMS. For a detailed understanding of how to do that, you should visit the official UIDAI website, and select the section, ‘Aadhaar Services on SMS’ under the ‘Aadhaar Services’ section in the drop-down menu.
