Is a Masked Aadhaar with the first 8 digits hidden accepted for KYC and hotels?

Yes. UIDAI guidelines explicitly encourage citizens to share a Masked Aadhaar - showing only the last 4 digits of the 12-digit Aadhaar number (such as XXXX XXXX 1234) - for hotel check-ins, travel verification, and private-sector verification.

Can someone remove the XXXX XXXX mask from the downloaded PDF to see my full Aadhaar number?

No. When you click Download Masked PDF or Download Masked PNG, the tool flattens the entire page with the mask burned directly into the image pixels and discards the original vector text layer. The hidden 8 digits do not exist anywhere in the exported file.

What is the password to unlock my official UIDAI e-Aadhaar PDF?

The standard e-Aadhaar password is 8 characters long: the first 4 letters of your name in CAPITAL letters (as printed on the card) followed immediately by your 4-digit Year of Birth (for example, ANIT1998).

Why did automatic detection not place a box on my photographed Aadhaar card?

Automatic detection reads the digital text coordinates inside official e-Aadhaar PDFs. If your PDF is a flat camera photo or scan with no text layer, simply click and drag on the preview canvas to draw a mask box over the first 8 digits manually.

Should I also mask the QR code on my Aadhaar card?

If the person requesting your ID only needs visual proof of your name, photo, and last 4 digits, dragging an extra mask box over the QR code prevents anyone from scanning the barcode to extract your full address and date of birth.

Can I use this same tool to mask a PAN card, Passport, or Voter ID?

Yes. Load any PDF containing a PAN card, Passport, or Driving License and drag on the live preview canvas to place Blackout, Whiteout, or XXXX mask boxes over any number or barcode before exporting.

Free Aadhaar Masker Online: Mask First 8 UIDAI Digits

Sharing an unmasked copy of your Aadhaar card for a hotel check-in, SIM verification, rental agreement, or travel booking exposes your 12-digit biometric identity number - and uploading that card to a random cloud "PDF editor" is even worse. Use this Aadhaar masker online to unlock your password-protected e-Aadhaar and automatically mask the first 8 digits (XXXX XXXX 1234) 100% locally inside your browser RAM, exporting a flattened, tamper-proof PDF or PNG with zero server uploads.

Why UIDAI recommends masking the first 8 digits for KYC

Under Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) circulars, organizations that are not specifically licensed as Aadhaar Authentication User Agencies are not supposed to collect or store your full 12-digit Aadhaar number in plain sight. A Masked Aadhaar - where the first 8 digits are replaced with characters like XXXX-XXXX and only the last 4 digits remain visible - is legally valid proof of identity for hotels, domestic travel, private employers, landlords, and routine KYC checks.

The problem most people run into is that the standard e-Aadhaar PDF downloaded on their computer or phone is locked with an 8-character password and displays the full 12-digit number in two or three different places on the sheet (on the top letter portion, on the bottom cut-out card, and sometimes along the vertical fold).

Even worse, if you draw a black box over the first 8 digits in a generic PDF viewer, the full 12-digit number remains selectable in the underlying text layer. This tool solves all three issues at once: it unlocks your e-Aadhaar password locally, scans the text coordinates to cover the first 8 digits of every 12-digit UID pattern on the page, and flattens the output into a single rasterized layer so the hidden digits are permanently destroyed.

How to use the Aadhaar masker online step by step

Drop your e-Aadhaar PDF (or scanned Aadhaar PDF) into the upload box, or click Load Sample PDF to see how automatic 8-digit masking works on a test card.
If your e-Aadhaar PDF is password-protected, enter your 8-character password (the first 4 letters of your name in CAPITALS followed by your 4-digit birth year, e.g., ARJU1994) in the local unlock prompt.
As soon as the document loads, the coordinate scanner automatically detects 12-digit Aadhaar strings and places XXXX XXXX mask boxes over the first 8 digits, leaving the last 4 digits visible.
Drag on the live canvas if you also want to mask the QR code, Virtual ID (VID), or mobile number, choose your Mask Style (XXXX XXXX on Black, Solid Blackout, or Clean Whiteout), and click Download Masked PDF or Download Masked PNG.

Built-in e-Aadhaar unlocker, coordinate scanner, and raster flattener

Every feature in this workspace is tailored specifically for Indian KYC and identity card sanitization without ever sending a byte over the network.

Automatic First-8-Digit coordinate detection: Scans both single-string 12-digit tokens (1234 5678 9012) and split 4-4-4 PDF text runs across the page, calculating the exact bounding box covering the first two 4-digit groups (67% width) while leaving the trailing 4 digits clear.
Native e-Aadhaar password decryption: Unlocks encrypted UIDAI PDFs right inside browser memory so you do not need to run a separate password remover first.
Freehand canvas masking for QR codes, PAN, and Passports: Click and drag anywhere on the live preview to draw additional mask rectangles over the high-density QR code, VID number, address block, or use the same canvas to mask PAN cards, Voter IDs, and Passports.
Irreversible raster flattening (PDF & PNG export): Renders the page with the masks burned into a 150 DPI pixel canvas before generating the final PDF or standalone PNG image. Zero underlying text tokens or unmasked layers remain in the downloaded file.

Worked example: masking an encrypted e-Aadhaar for a hotel check-in

Suppose you have EAadhaar_Arjun_Sharma.pdf (1 page, 710 KB) on your phone or laptop before checking into a hotel:

You drop the file into the workspace. Because UIDAI encrypts e-Aadhaar files with AES-128, the local password dialog appears.
You type ARJU1994 (first 4 letters of ARJUN + birth year 1994) and click Unlock.
The parser scans the unlocked page and finds the 12-digit number printed in two places: once in the upper enrollment summary and once in large bold type on the lower smart-card cutout. It automatically places 2 mask boxes covering the first 8 digits of each occurrence with XXXX XXXX, leaving only 4829 visible at the end.
You also drag a quick box over the large QR code on the right side of the card so a scanner app cannot read the embedded XML demographic data.
You click Download Masked PDF (and Download Masked PNG for WhatsApp/portal upload). Both exported files are completely password-free, flattened into a single tamper-proof image layer, and ready to share safely.

Tips for scanned Aadhaar cards and QR code privacy

Keep two practical details in mind when masking identity documents:

First, automatic 8-digit detection relies on the selectable text layer present in official digital e-Aadhaar PDFs. If you photographed a physical laminated Aadhaar card with your phone camera and converted that photo into a PDF, there is no digital text layer - only pixels. On a photographed card, simply use your mouse or finger to drag a box over the first 8 digits on the live preview canvas; it takes two seconds and produces the exact same flattened, tamper-proof result.

Second, remember that the large square QR code printed on an Aadhaar card contains digitally signed XML data including your name, date of birth, address, photo, and reference ID. If you are handing a copy to a third party that does not need to scan the QR code, drag a mask box over the QR code as well.

Zero-upload privacy guarantee for your ID card

Never upload an unmasked Aadhaar card, PAN card, or Passport to an unknown online server. This tool runs 100% offline inside your browser tab using PDF.js, HTML5 Canvas, and pdf-lib. You can even turn off Wi-Fi or mobile data after opening this page and mask your e-Aadhaar with zero internet connection.

ID & Aadhaar Masker