Aadhaar Card Usage History: How to Check if your Aadhaar was Misused

An Aadhaar Card is a 12-digit unique identification number which is issued by ‘The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)’ and is considered to be one of the most important documents for verifying the identity of Indian residents. It contains both the demographic and biometric details of the cardholder. Moreover, an Aadhaar Card is used to avail benefits such as it acts as a proof of address/residence, government subsidies, helps in opening a bank account, for Income Tax Returns, mutual funds, fixed deposit, phone connection, gas connection, etc. 

In recent times, to ensure the safety of Aadhaar Cardholder details and if your Aadhaar Card is not misused, The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) provides the facility of checking where your Aadhaar Card is used. 

As per the official website of UIDAI, you can use the ‘Aadhaar Authentication History’ tool to check all the details about your Aadhaar Card.  Aadhaar Authentication is basically a process where the citizen has to provide an Aadhaar Number along with other attributes i.e. biometrics to the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) for the purpose of verification. 

Steps to Check Aadhaar Authentication History Online

 The process to check where Aadhaar Card is mentioned in the following steps:

Step 1:  Visit the official website of UIDAI i.e.  https://uidai.gov.in/ 

Step 2: Under the ‘My Aadhaar’, you need to find the ‘Aadhaar Services’ option and then select the ‘Aadhaar Authentication History’ option

Step 3: Once done, you will be redirected to a new page. Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number 

Step 4: You need to enter the ‘CAPTCHA Code’ from the given box

Step 5: Now, click on the ‘Generate OTP’ button which will be opened on the new page

Step 6:  You will find a few options i.e. to choose the period of information and the number of previous transactions

Step 7: Enter the OTP sent on your registered mobile via an SMS to proceed further

Step 8: All the details relating to your Aadhaar Card such as the date, time, and type of the Aadhaar authentication requests made in the past made in the time period  (maximum 50 transactions are allowed at a time) you earlier selected will appear on your screen

Lock/Unlock Aadhaar Card Biometrics

In case you find that your Aadhaar Card has been misused, you can also avail the online facility of ‘Lock Aadhaar Card’ provided by The Unique Identification Authority of India and later unlock it whenever you want to use your Aadhaar Card.

For locking your Aadhaar Number you can send an SMS for an OTP request i.e. ‘Get  OTP Last 4 or 8 Digit’ of the Aadhaar Number and later send a request to lock your Aadhaar i.e.  ‘Lock UID Last 4 or 8 Digit of Aadhaar Number 6 Digit OTP’.

Moreover, for unlocking Aadhaar Number via an SMS service you should have your latest virtual ID (latest) and send an OTP request with ‘last 6 or 10 Digit of Virtual ID number as i.e. Get OTP Last 6 or 10 Digit Virtual ID’ and later send a request to unlock your Aadhaar i.e. ‘Unlock Last  6 or 10 Digit Virtual ID 6 Digit OTP’.

To know how to lock/unlock your Aadhaar Biometric Data, click here.

Things to keep in mind to Prevent your Aadhar from getting Misused

•  Once your Aadhaar is locked, you will not be able to use Aadhaar biometrics as a primary authenticator
  
• You can unlock your Aadhaar Biometrics through an  OTP sent to your registered mobile number
• There are chances of failure of bank transactions as the bank  will not be able to access your biometric details
  
• Aadhaar biometrics can only be unlocked through a One Time Password sent to your phone
• You can simply check your Aadhaar Authentication History online free of cost
  
• Always ask for the reason why the details for your Aadhaar Card are required  to avoid getting it misused
  
• Make sure you do not share the OTP sent on your registered mobile number with Aadhaar Card for authentication
  
• If you find any irregularity in the usage of Aadhaar, you can then immediately contact UIDAI via an email at – help@uidai.gov.in or you can also call on 1947, which is a toll-free number.