2023-11-29 05:00:00
Some subscribers compete in ingenuity to put an end to alleged spying on Linky, or to exposure to the airwaves, even though they are very limited.
The phenomenon is not new, but it comes back regularly in the form of videos on social networks like Tiktok. In sequences seen tens or hundreds of thousands of times, Internet users do not hesitate to fuel rumors regarding Linky meters, deployed by Enedis for almost a decade.
Despite numerous independent studies on the negligible wave emissions of a Linky meter, infinitely less important than those of a Wi-Fi terminal according to ANSES, some customers have come up with a ploy to try to block transmissions from the smart meter: covering it with aluminum foil. As early as 2017, publications on social networks reported the existence of such practices. But on Tiktok, videos still mention this “solution” to this day.
“Intervening in an electrical environment with aluminum, which is a conductor of electricity, presents a risk of electrification” reminds Enedis, to Tech&Co.
Power outage
The company explains in passing that covering the Linky meter with aluminum does not change the quality of information transmission. In addition to being dangerous, the idea can however lead to overheating of the device by limiting “its natural ventilation”.
“In this case, the cut-off device (breaker) integrated into the meter opens automatically in order to protect the customer’s electrical installation, thus causing a power cut” explains Enedis to Tech&Co, recalling that the customer is responsible the damage it causes to the equipment.
Faced with the fantasies circulating around Linky, other customers are convinced of being spied on by a camera hidden in the meter, behind a light diode. A rumor linked to the publication of false information by a satirical site several years ago, sometimes repeated without emphasizing its humorous nature, as explained by Free Midday end of October.
Only global data
Still on Tiktok, Internet users are staging a Linky meter adorned with adhesive tape to camouflage what is in reality just a simple LED light.
With Tech&Co, Enedis assures that “all data from the Linky meter is secure and encrypted” and that they are “the property of the customer” who can therefore “accept or refuse to transmit them to a third party”.
If, obviously, no secret camera comes to spy on customers, “the meter does not record the details of electricity consumption device by device but only overall consumption data in kWh” adds the company.
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