Citizens cry foul as Aadhaar helpline number comes pre-loaded on phones

The issue gained prominence when French hacker Elliot Baptiste asked people on Twitter if they have the UIDAI helpline number on their contact list

Just days after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman got social media in a tizzy by sharing his Aadhaar number on Twitter and challenging people to “harm him”, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which runs the Aadhaar project, found itself being questioned on social media on Thursday again. This time it was due to the revelation that the UIDAI’s helpline number is being saved by default in people’s phone contact list on most Android phones.

The issue gained prominence when French hacker Robert Baptiste who goes by a pseudonym Elliot Alderson asked people on Twitter if