The System of Aadhaar Based Virtual ID

Unique Identification authority of India (UIDAI) has launched Aadhaar Virtual ID also known as VID, a temporary ID to be used at all places. Instead of putting your Aadhaar number for verification, VID will be used to keep your details secure and private.

The initiative was taken after an outcry created over leakage of data linked to Aadhaar card. The concerns raised were that authorities have saved Aadhaar numbers as they were provided by the user and the same Aadhaar number have been misused and the details linked to it have been extracted. Therefore, UIDAI came with a better proposition of virtual IDs.

Also read: Aadhaar based Virtual ID & its related benefits

Know about virtual ID

It is a 16-digit random number that can be used by an Aadhaar cardholder for authentication or verification instead of using his/her Aadhaar number. VID along with biometrics of the user will provide the limited details that are your name, photo, or address to any authorized dealer for your verification.

Get your VID

Users can create their VID on the UIDAI website, which will be valid for a particular period or till the time you wish to replace it. You can also get the VIDs created on Aadhaar enrolment centers or Aadhaar mobile application.

How safe is it?

UIDAI claims that VID is safer as compared to Aadhaar as one Aadhaar number will only have one active VID that cannot be used to extract any details especially one cannot even know the Aadhaar number of the user from VID as it will be mapped at the backend. This will help to keep the details of a bank account or phone number linked to Aadhaar secure and prevent Aadhaar numbers from getting saved at various platform those can be misused later. As the VID created will be temporary, therefore it cannot be saved and replicated by other authorities. The authorities having Aadhaar numbers saved for certain users cannot use them to generate VIDs on someone else’s behalf.

Create your VIDs at the earliest to avoid any hindrance to your accesses and get updated.

Additional Reading on Aadhaar Virtual ID And its Benefits