Sub-agents were allotted small clusters of homes and they set out with print scanners, laptops and cyclostyle forms, collecting biometric data from anyone willing to walk up and give it. All this data traversed multiple layers of storage– from end-point to the central data warehouse – and all of it was done without any encryption. During the entire process, there were no clear statements from the government about where the data was going or to what end it would be used and the initial collection was fuelled by rumours and panic. In fact, data collection by unknown and unaccountable entities began well over a year before the UIDAI was even formally set up.