We carry important documents such as Aadhaar cards, driving licenses and PAN cards in our wallets. We carry them if need to present documents at any time. It’s risky since you could misplace them. It isn’t just an inconvenience, your personal information can be at risk, if they fall into the wrong hands. There are apps that let you store digital copies of important documents but they may not always be government approved. Fortunately for us, DigiLocker is. The app is operated by the Government of India and it lets you store a range of documents such as your school and college mark sheets, passports, ID proofs and many more in the digital form. This means, your documents travel with you on your smartphone.
DigiLocker is easy, secure and free for download for both, Android and iOS devices. We tell you more about it.
What are the benefits of using DigiLocker?
- You can access documents anytime, anywhere
- Documents are issued directly by the registered issuers such as Registrar Office, Income Tax department, CBSE, etc.
- A range of official certificates and documents are accessible
- Built-in cloud storage space links to your Aadhaar (UIDAI) number
- You can share documents online
- It’s simple and convenient
Is it simple to use?
DigiLocker has a simple interface. The Home section has categories of documents issued by the Central Government, State Government, Education, Banking and Insurance and other departments. One simply selects the category and enters the required details to issue documents or certificates. The Issued Documents section displays all the documents and certificates issued to you by the Government.
The left menu contains two more options – Uploaded Documents and Scan QR Code. The Uploaded Documents displays all the important documents you want to keep a record in the DigiLocker. You can also manually create folders to upload documents for easy access.
Is it safe?
DigiLocker is secure to use. The app is designed with all the necessary security measures to keep your personal data protected. The app is hosted under ISO 27001 standards to secure your personal and financial assets information. The app also uses the 256-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates, which means the information you provide to issue documents is encrypted. Users need to authenticate themselves using Aadhaar details to issue documents from the Government or registered issuers.
The next important security measure is the mobile authentication-based sign-up. Users are authenticated using mobile OTPs when they access the DigiLocker app. Another step to secure user details from unauthorized access is that DigiLocker terminates sessions when the app detects no activity for extended periods.
What are the documents supported by DigiLocker?
Some of the documents supported by the Digilocker app are the Aadhaar Card, PAN Verification Record, Registration of Vehicles and Birth Certificates, to name just a few. You can find the entire list here.
How do I issue e-Aadhaar in DigiLocker?
DigiLocker has partnered with UIDAI to make e-Aadhaar available. The steps below describe how to issue e-Aadhaar if you have a DigiLocker account.
- Download the DigiLocker app on your phone. Create a user ID using your mobile and Aadhaar number.
- Login to your DigiLocker account
- You will see a dialog box to get your e-Aadhaar message. Tap on “Click here”.
- You will receive an OTP on your mobile number linked to Aadhaar. Enter the OTP and click on the “Verify OTP” button.
- You will now be redirected to the Issued Documents section, where you’ll see your e-Aadhaar in the list
- Click on “View” to view the document or “Download PDF” to save.
Note: The process varies based on the documents being issued.
Digitization is transforming the world, improving our lives by making things simple. The DigiLocker app is being widely used in India. According to the latest statistics, it has 36.7 million registered users and 156 issuer organizations. It is safe, secure and free. You can use it to store important and official documents such as educational certificates, birth certificates, PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, Passports and Voter IDs on your mobile phone. You can also sign into digilocker.gov.in using a web browser. DigiLocker has also partnered with the Ministry of Road Transports letting users issue their driving licenses and vehicle registration certificates using the DigiLocker app.
