off the grid
1. Not connected to municipal utility systems, such as the water supply or the main electrical grid. I just need to get enough solar panels installed to disconnect from the city's electricity supply and my house will be completely off the grid.
2. Free from governmental observation or control; not traceable through any means of commerce or communication that could be linked to one's identity. Fearing for his life, the whistle-blower from the intelligence agency was forced to live off the grid for a number of years, eschewing anything that might leave a digital footprint for someone to find.
live off the grid
1. To live without one's home connected to municipal utility systems, such as the water supply or the main electrical grid. I just need to get enough solar panels installed to disconnect from the city's electricity supply and I'll be able to live completely off the grid.
2. To exist outside of governmental observation; to be untraceable through any means of commerce or communication that could be linked to one's identity. Fearing for his life, the whistle-blower from the intelligence agency was forced to live off the grid for a number of years, eschewing anything that might leave a digital footprint for someone to find.
be off the grid
1. To live without one's home connected to municipal utility systems, such as water supply or the main electrical grid. I just need to get enough solar panels installed to disconnect from the city's electricity supply, and then I'll be off the grid.
2. To exist outside of governmental observation; to be untraceable through any means of commerce or communication that could be linked to one's identity. Fearing for his life, the whistle-blower from the intelligence agency was forced to be off the grid for a number of years, eschewing anything that might leave a digital footprint for someone to find.