New Delhi | Smartphone users in India on Friday found themselves puzzled when Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) toll-free helpline number was saved in their phonebooks by default.
Raising concern over the issue, a Twitter user wrote “This is no joke as it is on my phone too. I didn’t save this number. Check your phone asap, feeling worried,” while attaching a screenshot of the saved number.
“Many people, with different providers, with and without an #Aadhaar card, with and without the mAadhaar app installed, noticed that your phone number is predefined in their contact list by default without their knowledge. Can you explain why?” Elliot Anderson, a French security expert asked UIDAI on Twitter.
Meanwhile, UIDAI is yet to issue an official statement on this, has replaced the earlier helpline number–1800-300-1947– with the new number–1947, which got into people’s phonebooks without their consent.
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