What is Aadhaar OKYC?
Offline Aadhaar KYC shares a signed XML or QR containing only the fields needed, without the platform ever seeing the Aadhaar number.
Offline KYC (OKYC) is a way to prove Aadhaar-backed identity without the verifying platform handling the Aadhaar number itself. The holder downloads a signed XML or QR-encoded document from UIDAI, protected by a share code, and gives that to the platform.
What the platform receives
Name, date of birth, gender, address, photograph — and a masked Aadhaar number, not the full one. The bundle carries UIDAI's digital signature, so it can be verified as genuine and unaltered without contacting UIDAI at verification time.
Why offline rather than online
Online Aadhaar eKYC via OTP requires the platform to be an authorised entity within the UIDAI ecosystem. OKYC works without that, because the trust comes from the signature on the document rather than from a live call to the authority.
The privacy consequence is the point: verification succeeds while the platform never stores a full Aadhaar number.
What people get wrong
Storing the full Aadhaar number when the masked one suffices. If the flow gives you a masked number, keeping more than that is a liability, not a feature.
Ignoring the share code lifecycle. The XML is encrypted with a code the holder sets. That code is a credential and should be handled as one.
Assuming OKYC proves current address. It proves what UIDAI held when the file was generated. For a recent move, that is already stale.
On Bidancer
Aadhaar-based verification is one route for individual KYC, alongside DigiLocker and document verification. The platform keeps the minimum the flow requires.