The Indian government, through the Unique Identification Authority of India, has launched an entirely new Aadhaar app for the country’s 140 crore residents. This digital tool enables users to securely store their Aadhaar card on their smartphone, eliminating the need for a physical card. You could get the app for free from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. The app offers strong security, with biometric locks, face authentication, and QR code transfer for fast and paperless verification. Furthermore, for ease, a single smartphone may handle several Aadhaar profiles, allowing numerous family members to use Aadhaar-backed services securely. This app allows you to view a dossier of your stored information offline and tracks its usage history.
Key Features of the New Aadhaar App
- Facial Recognition and Biometrics: Users authenticate using face scan, ensuring only the rightful Aadhaar holder accesses the digital ID, increasing privacy and security.
- Multi-profile Support: Families sharing the same mobile number can manage up to five Aadhaar profiles in one app, simplifying verification for government services, healthcare, and education.
- Selective Data Sharing: Users can choose which details to share (like hiding address or date of birth) when verifying identity, enhancing data privacy.
- QR Code Sharing: Enables quick, contactless Aadhaar verification at banks, government offices, and service centers via QR scan.
- Offline Access: After initial setup with internet, users can view Aadhaar details offline for convenience during verification without connectivity.
- Usage History Monitoring: The app logs when, where, and how the Aadhaar was accessed to help users track and ensure against misuse.
How to Download and Set Up the Aadhaar App
- Download the official “Aadhaar” app from Google Play Store or Apple App Store
. - Open the app, select your preferred language, and enter the 12-digit Aadhaar number
. - Verify your identity via OTP sent to your Aadhaar-registered mobile number.
- Complete mandatory face authentication.
- Set a security PIN for easy future access.
- You can then access, share, and manage your Aadhaar details digitally and add profiles of family members linked to your mobile number.
Benefits and Impact
With this new Aadhaar app, you won’t have to carry your physical Aadhaar card anywhere, as it will store everything one needs in the form of a virtual and digital model across India. It enhances the protection of identity information by combining biometric and facial recognition authentication. The multiple profile capability allows an entire family to be supported on a single device, simplifying identity proofing in various use cases, including healthcare, education, and financial services. Privacy by design encompasses the ability to selectively share data, granting users control over what is shared. Access is unaffected offline, making the log of use both useful and secure.
The app is a step towards the government’s Digital India initiative, which aims to provide all citizens with a digital identity that is available anytime and anywhere. It has kept the residents’ interests in mind, and has made it more convenient while keeping a tight rein on security around unauthorized use of data.” It is a truly paperless process that demonstrates the government’s commitment to streamlining civic services through technology.
This new Aadhaar app will be a must-have for 140 crore Indians who want to carry, verify, and share their Aadhaar identity on their smartphones in a very safe and easy way.