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The Smart Home Wi-Fi Trap: Are We All Being Conned by Convenience? (unknownuniverse.uk)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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Mainstream tech advice treats cheap Wi-Fi smart plugs as harmless convenience, totally glossing over how much telemetry leaks out to overseas cloud servers by default.

Expecting casual users to set up VLANs and firewall drop rules just to stop a £10 light bulb from phoning home is a bit of a joke.

True privacy means local control without corporate middlemen.

Original content by The Unknown Universe, written by a human and not AI generated!

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[–] 8 points 1 month ago (9 children)

In my house, the switched outlets are the only grounded ones on the second floor. Kind of a no-win proposition there.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    Yeah, i deal with this too.

    When the options are

    1. Rewire the outlets in your wall, or
    2. Add a "smart" layer of abstraction in top,

    How are people so surprised that not everyone wants to do electrical work?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago*

    I have electrical experience so it's easy for me, but I can definitely understand not wanting to touch AC power. If you do it wrong you can die or burn your house down. It's easy and not a lot of variations, but how many people do you know who just can't follow step by step instructions and the stakes are higher here than just factory reset the device if you mess up.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (4 children)

    You can modify the outlet so that only one plug is controlled by the switch. It's very easy to do, actually. I had to do this in my home for that exact reason, incidentally - the only available outlet for my PC was on the switch. Just modified the outlet, and now only the top plug is controlled by the switch. I have the lamp plugged in the switch half and my PC in the other half.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    I watched a video about how to do this, and i would not be comfortable doing it.

    I'm glad it is easy for you though!

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Easier than replacing a light switch, which I've also done. And then had to re-do when I accidentally put it in upside down. The main thing about doing any minor electrical work is to ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS turn off the power at the breaker box and ensure it is off before you start. Better to be cautious than a crispy critter, lol

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    I'm OK with that part. I'm not confident i can do the work correctly or with high enough quality to not result in a fire some day.

    Too much risk that i connect the wrong wire, or screw something down wrong, such that it seems to work OK, but is actually dangerous.

    There's a reason electricians have to be certified after all.

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