Lock Unlock Aadhaar Biometric Data

UIDAI has introduced the option of unlocking and locking an individual’s Aadhaar Biometric Data for purposes of verification. The individual himself/herself can do this online and ensure that the data is kept secure. Large amounts of data stored with UIDAI makes many uncomfortable in terms of safety. This facility offers confidence to the users on the protection of data.

There are two ways in which Aadhaar Biometric Data can be unlocked and locked online. One is through UIDAI portal and the other is mAadhaar. mAadhaar is the mobile application download created by UIDAI for all time access through the phone. Many services of Aadhaar are available on mAadhaar. Both these methods are considered secure and have 24 hours, 365 days access making it extremely useful.

Unlocking and Lock Aadhaar Biometric Data Online

Unlocking and Locking Aadhaar Biometric Data online is a simple and quick process. Details are given below:

• Visit the online portal of UIDAI
• Select option of “Lock/Unlock Biometrics” from the Services section
• Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number and security code
• Now click on the “Send OTP” option
• OTP is sent on your mobile phone number which was registered with the Aadhaar application form
• Type in the OTP number received on the phone and click on Login
• Here, the feature of locking your biometric happens
• A 4-digit code is generated on the screen which needs to be entered and then click on “Enable” button
• The biometric data is locked now and will need to be unlocked if required
• For unlocking the biometric data, click on “Login”
• Enter the Aadhaar number and the security code that is provided
• Click on “Send OTP” option
• OTP is sent on your mobile phone number which was registered with the Aadhaar application form
• Type in the OTP number received on the phone and click on Login
• One can temporarily unlock the biometric data by entering the security code and clicking on the “Unlock” button
• Your biometric data is unlocked for ten mins
• The date and time of locking is visible on the screen and then biometric data is locked again
• There is an option to disable the permanent locking system for your biometric data
• This is available only through the online portal
• To disable the permanent locking system, log into the online portal of UIDAI
• Enter the Aadhaar number and the security code
• Enter the security code and click on “Disable” button
• The Aadhaar Biometrics data is permanently disabled till such time you lock it again

Unlocking and Lock Aadhaar Biometric Data through mAadhaar

Unlocking and locking Aadhaar Biometric through mAadhaar is another simple and quick process. The steps can be followed below:

• Firstly, one must have the mAadhaar installed on the smartphone
• Make your profile on the app with required information
• Open the profile on the app
• There are 3 vertical dots on the top right hand corner. Click on it
• Click on Biometric Settings option
• Click on the Enable Biometric Locking option
• Check the tick box
• An OTP gets generated and sent to your registered mobile number
• The OTP is automatically fed into the app, it is not possible to manually enter it
• After this step, the biometric data is locked
• There is a chance that it may take up to 6 hours to activate the lock
• To unlock the biometric data, one can deselect the lock option on the biometric settings option
• An OTP gets generated and gets automatically filled into the app
• An approval needs to be given to unlock the biometric data
• Once the approval is given, it is unlocked temporarily for 10 minutes
• This time can be utilized to authenticate the biometric details
• The biometric data is locked automatically after 10 minutes
• If one is looking to disable the biometric lock, this cannot be done on mAadhaar. It can only be done through the UIDAI portal