Home Assistant Says ‘Big Tech Ruined The Cloud, So We’re Out’

TL;DR

Prime Big Deal Days · Oct 6–7Offer from Amazon

Get tools and workshop supplies delivered free — and shop member deals

• Fast, free delivery on millions of items
• Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
• Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included

Start your free Prime trial →Free trial for eligible customers · Cancel anytime

As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.Hide

Home Assistant is changing the name of its optional Home Assistant Cloud service to Home Assistant Link. The paid service will continue to provide remote access and other internet-dependent features, while the platform’s core smart-home control remains local. Founder Paulus Schoutsen also outlined plans to simplify setup and make Home Assistant easier for mainstream users.

Home Assistant is renaming its optional paid Home Assistant Cloud service to Home Assistant Link, a largely symbolic change intended to make clear that the smart-home platform itself runs locally. Founder Paulus Schoutsen told The Verge that the service’s features will remain, while the new name reflects the project’s opposition to smart-home products that depend on company-controlled cloud servers.

Schoutsen said the change addresses confusion among people who assumed the word “Cloud” meant Home Assistant itself ran in the cloud. The platform runs on hardware in a user’s home and controls devices locally. Without Link or another remote-access setup, users generally cannot reach their Home Assistant system once they are away from their home network.

Home Assistant Link costs $6.50 per month or $65 per year, according to the report. It provides remote access to a Home Assistant installation and access to optional internet-dependent features, including Alexa and Google voice control, speech-to-text and text-to-speech, and encrypted backups. The service is not required: the report says users can set up alternative methods to access the features it provides.

The service is operated by Nabu Casa, Home Assistant’s commercial partner. Schoutsen said Link traffic is encrypted and the company cannot see users’ data. He also said 60 percent of the service’s profit goes to the nonprofit Open Home Foundation, which runs Home Assistant. The name change includes back-end improvements intended to increase speed and reliability, but the report does not detail those changes.

Why Local Control Matters

The announcement highlights a practical difference between local smart-home control and systems that rely on a manufacturer’s servers. When a product’s basic functions depend on a cloud service, a company’s decision to shut down that service can leave owners with reduced or unusable devices. Schoutsen cited past cases including Nest ending cloud support for older thermostats and Weber discontinuing servers for its June Oven.

Home Assistant’s position may appeal to people concerned about data access, service shutdowns and long-term device support. But the announcement does not mean the platform is entirely offline: Link and some features, including remote access and online speech tools, rely on internet services. The distinction is that Link is optional and, according to Schoutsen, does not have access to the contents of encrypted traffic.

The company also faces a usability challenge as it seeks wider adoption. Schoutsen estimated that Home Assistant is installed in 2.7 million homes, but said it remains much smaller than major platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings and Apple Home. The estimate is his, and the report provides no comparison measurement for those competitors.

From Cloud Label to Link

Home Assistant is an open-source smart-home platform that gives users extensive control over devices and automations. Its flexibility can also make it harder to set up than more limited consumer systems. Schoutsen told The Verge that many people turn to Home Assistant after reaching the limits of mainstream options, but that its learning curve can deter newcomers.

The word “Cloud” had created a mismatch with the project’s longstanding criticism of cloud-dependent smart-home products. The paid service was never mandatory, according to the report, and users could reproduce its functions through other methods. The rename changes the label, not that basic arrangement: Home Assistant continues to operate locally, with Link offered as a convenient option for remote access and selected online features.

Schoutsen said the team is working to lower the entry barrier without removing the platform’s advanced capabilities. Plans include simpler dashboards, more intuitive setup, and integrating the HACS community store into Home Assistant next month so users can find and install community-built integrations more easily. He also described work on a successor to the Home Assistant Green hub that would be easier to set up, though the report gives no launch date beyond saying it is planned for next year.

“Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out.”

— Paulus Schoutsen, Home Assistant founder, speaking to The Verge

Details Still to Come

The report does not provide a precise date for when the Home Assistant Cloud name will be fully replaced across the service, or technical details about the promised speed and reliability improvements. It also does not specify the price, hardware, or release date of the planned hub successor beyond saying it is expected next year.

Schoutsen described a “No Device Left Behind” program involving devices to connect existing analog or legacy technology to Home Assistant, but the supplied report ends before explaining what those devices will do or when they may be available. The proposed consumer database and any product “nutrition label” are also not described as completed or launched.

The privacy and security details cited here are Schoutsen’s statements in an interview. The report does not independently describe a technical audit of Link’s encryption or data-handling practices. Users who choose the service will still need an internet connection for its remote and other online features.

Planned Setup and Hub Changes

The next stated software milestone is the planned integration of the HACS community store into Home Assistant next month, which Schoutsen said should make community integrations easier to discover and set up. The team also plans to keep working on simpler dashboards and a more intuitive onboarding process.

A more user-friendly successor to the Home Assistant Green hub is planned for next year, according to Schoutsen. The report does not give a specific date or product details. The Link rename and the coming usability changes will show whether Home Assistant can make its locally controlled system easier to adopt without narrowing the options that distinguish it.

Key Questions

What is Home Assistant Link?

Home Assistant Link is the new name for Home Assistant Cloud, an optional paid service for remote access and selected internet-dependent features. The report says it costs $6.50 per month or $65 per year.

Does Home Assistant now run in the cloud?

No. The report says Home Assistant runs on local hardware and controls smart-home devices locally. Link provides a way to reach a Home Assistant installation from outside the home network.

Do users need Link to use Home Assistant?

No. The service is optional. According to the report, users can use other methods to replicate the functions Link provides, though those methods may require additional setup.

What changes with the new name?

The report says the main change is the name; the service’s features remain. Schoutsen also cited back-end work intended to improve speed and reliability, but specific technical details were not provided.

What other Home Assistant changes are planned?

Schoutsen said the team plans to integrate HACS into Home Assistant next month and is working on simpler setup and dashboards. A successor to the Home Assistant Green hub is planned for next year, but no specific release date was given.

Source: rss