The government has issued a caution note on Aadhaar cards. (Photo: File)

The central government has asked citizens to only share masked copies of their Aadhaar cards to prevent misuse.

In a press release on Sunday, the government said, "Do not share photocopy of your Aadhaar with any organisation as it can be misused. Alternatively, please use a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last four digits of your Aadhaar number."

Further, unlicensed private entities are like hotels and film halls are not allowed to collect or keep copies of Aadhaar card, the notice issued by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

"Only those organisations that have obtained a User License from the Unique Identification Authority of India can use Aadhaar for establishing the identity of a person," the government stated. The government asked citizens to verify that an organisation has a valid User License from UIDAI before sharing their Aadhaar cards with them.