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Home Assistant says ‘Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out’
The Verge • • general
Key Points:
- Home Assistant is renaming its Home Assistant Cloud service to Home Assistant Link to distance itself from the negative connotations of cloud dependency, emphasizing local control and privacy.
- The Link service, costing $6.50/month or $65/year, allows remote access and internet-dependent features like voice assistant integration and encrypted backups, but does not store user data, ensuring privacy.
- Founder Paulus Schoutsen criticizes cloud-dependent smart home products for losing functionality when cloud services end, advocating for local control, open standards, and transparency about cloud reliance in devices.
- Home Assistant aims to become more mainstream by simplifying setup, improving user experience, integrating community-built tools, and launching a more user-friendly hub next year to lower barriers for new users.
- The platform is also exploring AI integration to reduce complexity and enable smart home automation, positioning itself as a foundational layer for AI agents while maintaining user data privacy locally.
