The Indian Government took to their Twitter account on the 29th of May to spread awareness about revealing critical Aadhar card details. They told people to not share Aadhar card photocopies to any company or organisation. Many of the people said that this is the first time ever they are hearing about this issue.
The tweet mentioned that companies and organisations that are not officially licensed to ask for your Aadhar card shouldn’t be allowed to receive them. Some of these include restaurants, cinema halls, and resorts.
The 12-digit code on the Identification card along with your photo, fingerprints, and a retina scan are all unique modes of identity which should be private and only the person and the government should have access to them.
Many people who saw this tweet were enraged at this tweet as they have not been informed or warned about this before. A user replied to the tweet saying that he has visited well over a hundred hotels who all have access to the Aadhar card.
When making a booking, the company normally asks for an identification such as a passport or license. These companies also allow the Aadhar card as a proof of identity and due to its ubiquity and ease of access, everyone uses it as their main choice.
Neither has the government nor any organisation or agency announce this and hundreds of millions of Indians have been giving their unique Aadhar card as their main proof of ID.
A user replied to the Tweet to say that you can download a masked Aadhar card which covers the unique 12-digit code except the last 4 numbers. But then again, only people with a regular internet and smartphone services can avail this, which means it’s a privilege leaving millions of Indians using their regular Aadhar card their proof of ID.
Over 1.3 billion people have an Aadhar card making it the largest proof of Identification in the world. The card was set up 13 years ago back in 2009 and has considered to be a success although facing many setbacks along the way.
The tweet has been up for just over a day and has already gone on to garner close to 3000 likes. It is even closing in on 1,000 retweets. People have obviously taken to this tweet very negatively as neither has the government informed the people of this nor has any company organisation told people to send them another proof of ID and not an Aadhar card.