UIDAI's helpline number is automatically creeping into people's phone contacts

Thousands of smartphone users in India have woken up puzzled with a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) toll-free helpline number saved in their phonebooks by default.

UIDAI, which 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.

“This is no joke as it is on my phone too. I didn’t save this number. Check your phone asap, feeling worried,” a user tweeted with a screenshot.

Wow I found this in my phone contacts as well. how can a third person enter a phone number in my contacts without my consent and how is the service provider permitting this ? @UIDAI ?? https://t.co/YQI94hGZnv

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) August 3, 2018

Damn... It was in my phone too! Why would #UIDAI even do this? This is creepy. https://t.co/q2rCntZaaS

— N. Chandramouli (@ncmoulee) August 3, 2018

Didn't know that I had the UIDAI toll free number in my contacts. Apparently govt of India sneakily put it in our (smart?) phones, without telling us. Not acceptable. We are indeed living in Orwellian times. Or Nilekani times as my friend @digitaldutta says. #Aadhar

— Yunus Lasania (@YunusLasania) August 3, 2018

There is an entry of UIDAI in my phone with the number 1800-300-1947.
I have not entered such number or stored it. How can a third party enter number in my phone without any consent.

What is happening @UIDAI ?
Apparently this is Aadhar helpline number. But, who gave permission?

— Naren Raj Purohit (@Narenpurohit) August 3, 2018

Setup Android-x86 in a VM and guess what got populated in the Contacts. Why are you doing this @Google ? How can the govt. of India force such entries into everyone's phonebooks? pic.twitter.com/AnVv2C9vIS

— ؜ (@kingslyj) January 21, 2018

A French security expert, Elliot Alderson, asked UIDAI on Twitter: “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?”

Hi @UIDAI,

Many people, with different provider, 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 and so without their knowledge. Can you explain why?

Regards,

— Baptiste Robert (@fs0c131y) August 2, 2018

Twitter was abuzz again with the new development after a huge uproar due to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman R.S. Sharma’s open Aadhaar challenge to critics and hackers.

Sharma made a tweetstorm by sharing his 12-digit Aadhaar number on July 28.

Ethical hackers exposed at least 14 personal details of the TRAI Chairman, including mobile numbers, home address, date of birth (DoB), PAN number and voter ID, among others.