How to keep your CNIC image safe when applying online

Applying online means handing over an image of your CNIC, sometimes several times in one season. The card carries your name, your number, your photograph and your address, and a copy of it can be used by someone else without your knowledge. A few habits keep the risk low without slowing you down.

Upload it only on the official portal

Before you upload anything, read the address in the browser’s address bar. Government portals in Pakistan usually have addresses that end in .gov.pk or in a provincial ending such as .gop.pk, for example fpsc.gov.pk and ppsc.gop.pk. Testing services have their own addresses, which are printed in the advertisement.

Type the address yourself or follow the link in the official advertisement.
Be careful with links sent in messages and groups. A copy of a portal can look exactly like the real one.
Check that the address begins with https and that the name is spelt correctly, letter by letter.

Send only what is asked for

Forms differ in what they need. PPSC and ASF ask for the front of the CNIC only. If a form asks for the front, do not add the back as well. The less of the card you send, the less there is to misuse.

Be careful with agents and “apply for you” services

Many people pay a shop or an agent to fill in the form. That person then holds your CNIC image, your photo and all your details. If you do use one, stay while the form is filled, ask for the files to be deleted from the computer afterwards, and keep the application number and the password yourself. Never give your CNIC image to someone who contacts you first with an offer of a job.

On a shared or public computer

Do not save the CNIC image to the desktop. Use a USB drive or your phone and remove it when you finish.
After applying, delete any copy from the Downloads folder and then empty the Recycle Bin.
Log out of the portal and of your email before you leave, and close the browser.
Do not let the browser save your password.

Marking a copy that you hand over

When a printed copy is given to a private party, such as a shop or a landlord, a common precaution is to write the purpose and the date across it, for example “For SIM registration only”, so that it is harder to reuse for anything else. Do not write on an image that you upload to a government portal. Portals expect a clean, readable picture of the card.

Tools that process your CNIC

To bring a CNIC image under 25 or 30 KB you need a tool, and many online tools work by uploading your picture to their own server. You have no way of knowing how long it is kept there.

The tools on this site work differently. The picture is opened and resized inside your browser, on your own phone or computer, and is never sent to us. You can test this yourself: load the page, switch off your internet connection, and resize a picture. It still works, because nothing needs to leave the device.

Keep track of where your CNIC has gone

Keep a short note of where you have submitted your CNIC and when. If something looks wrong later, such as a SIM or an account that you did not open, the note tells you where to start asking. The relevant organisation, such as your mobile operator, your bank or NADRA, is the place to report it.

A short routine

Check the address before you upload.
Send only the side that is asked for.
Use a tool that does not upload your picture.
Delete copies from any device that is not yours.
Keep your application number and password to yourself.

None of this takes more than a minute, and it leaves your CNIC image in as few places as possible.