Share only the masked version of Aadhaar card: Govt advisory

New Delhi: An advisory from the Central government on Sunday urged citizens not to share photocopy of Aadhaar.

The government warned of potential misuse of the vital document if shared as it is to organisations.

The press release issued by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology directed all Aadhaar holders to submit a masked version displaying only the last four digits on the card.

The masked version can be downloaded from UIDAI official website by choosing "Do you want a masked Aadhaar".

Unlicensed private entities including hotels and movie theatres cannot collect or keep copies of Aadhaar card, according to the notice.

"Only those organisations that have obtained a User License from the Unique Identification Authority of India can use Aadhaar for establishing the identity of a person," said the government.

The government asked citizens to ensure before sharing Aadhaar copy whether the organisation has a valid User License from UIDAI .

The advisory also urged the cardholders not to use public cafes to download Aadhaar cards.

In the event of doing so, citizens are asked to delete the downloaded copies of Aadhaar from the computer.