NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) -- the body that issues
Aadhaar numbers -- on Friday clarified that it has never asked phone manufacturers or service providers like Airtel, Vodafone and others to add its toll-free helpline in the default list of public service numbers.
The clarification comes in the wake of the vigilante hacker -- who goes by the name Elliot Alderson on Twitter -- creating a stir on the micro-blogging site on Thursday after he pointed out that many people have 1800-300-1947 saved against the name UIDAI by default in the contact list of their phones.
Following the UIDAI clarification, telecom lobby group Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) too put out a statement saying, no service provider had included the number in the phonebooks. "The inclusion of a certain unknown number in the phonebooks of various mobile handsets is not from any telecom service provider," the lobby group that includes the likes of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone said.
UIDAI has gone on to clarify that the number is an old one, which is not in use and 1947 is the new helpline. However, some Twitter users were quick to point out that new phones reportedly have 1947 saved as default.
TOI could not immediately verify the claim.
A snap survey revealed that the helpline number seems to be only saved as a default on Android phones and is not part of iPhones default public service numbers list.
We have written to Samsung and Xiaomi -- two of the biggest players in the Indian smartphones space in terms of market share -- for a reaction on the story and are awaiting a response.
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