Utility Smart Meter (generic AMI)
Generic (no single maker) · Smart Meter
Staff Reviewed · 2026-09-28 — a person at DeSpy reviewed this rating.
Index
Records energy usage at 15-minute intervals stored up to three years, which the Seventh Circuit held reveals occupancy, sleep and eating routines and appliance use — a Fourth Amendment 'search,' though a reasonable one.
Why this rating
Generic utility smart meters retain 15-minute interval energy data for up to three years, which the Seventh Circuit found reveals occupancy, sleep and appliance-use routines and constitutes a Fourth Amendment 'search,' though the court found it a reasonable one given the municipal billing purpose.
What it is
- Manufacturer
- Generic (no single maker)
- Category
- Smart Meter
- Model years
- 2010-present
- Market status
- Current
The evidence 3
Independent research, regulatory action, lawsuits and journalism about how this device handles personal data — the "what actually happens" axis. Each links to its source.
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The Seventh Circuit held that collecting smart-meter data every 15 minutes constitutes a Fourth Amendment 'search' but ruled it reasonable given the municipal interest, since interval data reveals occupancy, sleep and appliance-use patterns.
Why it matters here: The Seventh Circuit Naperville case is the foundational legal precedent on smart-meter interval-data privacy.
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Legal academic analysis of the Naperville smart-meter Fourth Amendment ruling and its implications for IoT data collection generally.
Why it matters here: Academic legal analysis of the Naperville decision's broader implications.
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Advocacy commentary criticizing the Seventh Circuit's Naperville ruling that upheld smart-meter data collection despite recognizing it as a Fourth Amendment search.
Why it matters here: Advocacy commentary critical of the Naperville ruling's implications for smart-meter privacy.
Where your data goes
Third parties this device's data has flowed to, and on what basis. An ended tag means the flow has verifiably stopped — it stays listed for the record.
- Electric/Gas Utilities (Program Administrators)
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Descriptive, cited, not legal advice; ratings are versioned and corrections create a new version. Data from the IoT Info Grabber DB research project, CC BY-SA 4.0.