Google takes blame for Aadhaar number's 'mysterious presence' in phonebooks
Tech giant Google has taken responsibility for the presence of UIDAI helpline number in phones across the nation. On Friday there was a growing concern among citizens after UIDAI's number, which they hadn't saved, showed up in the contacts list. Revealing that the issue dates back to 2014, a statement from Google assured that user data wasn't compromised. Here's more about the admission.
Google says the number was 'inadvertently coded'
Google said that in 2014, this number and 114 other helpline numbers were 'inadvertently coded into the SetUp wizard of the Android release given to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) for use in India'. It has remained there since Google said, and then went on to apologize for any inconvenience caused. "This isn't a situation of an unauthorized access of their Android devices," it added.
But why did iPhone users face the same issue?
This problem of UIDAI's number showing mysteriously in contact wasn't limited to Android users, even iOS customers faced the same. A plausible explanation for this is that users may have synced their contacts with Gmail account, which had the '18003001947' number already.
Notably, Google's hand in controversy was hinted by few
Toll-free numbers can be pre-programmed into devices by telecom operators, but they denied it. Twitter users Arnav Gupta (an Android application developer), and Kingsly John pointed out that Google might be responsible. "The number doesn't exist on a fresh install before the device connects to the Internet. So it is coming from the Internet, and not present in the OS itself," Gupta had tweeted.
The panic, the criticism: UIDAI gets slammed after phonebook 'compromised'
After this incident, the UIDAI was slammed, with many claiming it was a breach of privacy. The body then released a statement saying they didn't ask telecom providers to add the number, and that the said number was no longer their valid toll-free number. It was changed to '1947', two years ago. People can delete the UIDAI contact manually.
