Secure Your Aadhar Number with VID, check more

Don't want to give your Aadhaar number out? Worried that your 12-digit number and data might be misused or stolen? Well, for those of you don't want to share your unique biometric number now have an alternative in the form of the Aadhaar Virtual ID (VID). The VID will allow you to authenticate transactions and e-know-your-customer (KYC) services instead of providing your Aadhaar number. 

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched the facility and "soon, service providers will start accepting VID in place of Aadhaar number. For now, you can use this for online address update in your Aadhaar." 



What is VID? 

The VID is a temporary, revocable 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number. The UIDAI, in a statement issued in January, said that one's Aadhaar number cannot be derived from the VID that is generated. The virtual ID can be used for the purpose of authentication in the same way the Aadhaar number is used. Currently, VID can be generated on UIDAI's resident portal. According to the UIDAI statement, various entities will have to migrate to the new system where they can accept the VID for the authentication.

Since this is a digital ID, Aadhaar holders can regenerate it multiple times, which makes it safer than providing your actual Aadhaar number. At present, the VID is valid for a minimum of one day, which means an Aadhaar holder would be able to re-generate a new VID a day after he has generated the first one. Further, there is no expiry period defined yet for the VID and it will be valid till the time a new one is generated by you. This particular facility, on the UIDAI website, can only be accessed if you have your mobile number registered in the UIDAI database. This is because all Aadhaar-related online services are one-time password (OTP) enabled and for this, registering your mobile number with UIDAI is a must. 

How to create virtual ID or VID through UIDAI.gov.in portal

The UIDAI provides several online facilities for Aadhaar holders. One of these online tools enables Aadhaar card holders to generate a 16-digit Virtual ID (VID) by entering their UID.


This tool can be accessed by clicking on the 'Virtual ID (VID) Generator' link on the homepage of the UIDAI portal.


The facility enables a user to verify his or her identity through an OTP- or One-Time Passcode-based process, according to the UIDAI website.

The Aadhaar platform helps service providers authenticate identity of residents electronically, in a safe and quick manner, making service delivery more cost effective and efficient