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How to mask your Aadhaar before you share it

A photocopy of your Aadhaar can sit in a hotel drawer or a college office for years. A masked copy, with the first eight digits hidden, shows who you are without giving away the number. You can make one on your phone or computer in a minute, without uploading the card anywhere.

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What masking means

In a masked Aadhaar the first eight digits of the 12-digit number are hidden and only the last four are visible, like XXXX XXXX 1234. The name, photo and date of birth stay. That is enough for the person who looks at it to see that the card is yours, and not enough for anyone to use the number.

The QR code matters as much as the number. It holds the details printed on the card, and anyone can read it with a free app, so a masked number next to a visible QR code is not masked at all.

Mask a photo, a scan or a PDF

  1. Open Mask Aadhaar and add the photo, scan or PDF. The front and the back can be added together.
  2. Wait a few seconds. The first eight digits of the number and the QR code are covered with boxes.
  3. Look at every box. Drag a box to move it, drag its corners to resize it, and press Delete to remove a wrong one.
  4. Draw a new box by dragging on the picture over anything else that should be hidden, such as the address or the VID.
  5. Press Save the masked copy, and download the result.

Check it before you send it

  1. Open the saved picture and look at the whole of it. The first eight digits must be completely covered, and the last four clearly visible.
  2. Look for the number anywhere else on the card: some cards print it twice, or it appears on the back.
  3. Check that the QR code is covered.
  4. Keep your original card and file somewhere safe, and send only the masked copy.

If the number was not found

The number is found by reading the picture, so it works best on a sharp, straight, evenly lit photo. If it was missed, take a clearer photo with the card flat, or just draw a box over the digits yourself: a box drawn by hand is as good as one the page found. For an e-Aadhaar PDF with a password, remove the password first with Unlock PDF; the password is the first four letters of your name in capitals and your year of birth.

Who needs the full number

Banks, telecom companies and government offices doing e-KYC may need the full number or the original, and they will say so. For hotels, hostels, gyms, colleges and online forms that only want proof of identity, a masked copy is usually right. If you are not sure, ask what it is for. Write the purpose and the date on a printed copy, so it cannot easily be reused for something else.

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