New Aadhaar App to Enable Offline Sharing, Allowing User to Share Selective Information: Report

New Delhi: A new Aadhaar app that is under testing, aims to minimise the amount of data that Aadhaar number holders in India need to share in public places such as hotels. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar told The Hindu in an interview that the app will allow the user to share selective information as and when it is needed.

“This is what we want Aadhaar to be,” said Kumar, displaying a dense QR code in the Aadhaar app. The app will be formally launched and promoted after more features are added to it and a public test.

The app, which is already available on mobile app marketplaces, has the dense QR code that represents all the data of an Aadhaar user, including their photo, completely offline, reported The Hindu.

People could scan the QR code using the Aadhaar app and given the fact that it is digitally signed by the UIDAI using standard cryptographic techniques, it would be impossible to forge. This new feature is also expected to reduce instances of images or PDF documents with forged Aadhaar details.

In recent amendments to rules, UIDAI had introduced the concept of “Offline Verification Seeking Entities,” or OVSEs.

The OVSEs, which would include public places such as hotel receptions, would be “discouraged” from asking guests to share physical copies of Aadhaar, said Kumar. They would instead receive a digitally authenticated record of visitors’ Aadhaar, along with an assurance that the details are legitimate.

The app would enable users to share details selectively and processes such as age verification could be done without sharing more data than necessary, said the Hindu report.

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