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!
Other than the thermostat, I can’t think of anything in my home that I want to change automatically without manual intervention.
Bathroom vent fan control is a good use case. Mine turns on if the humidity is 10% higher than the reference sensor outside the bathroom, then shuts off when it gets within range of the reference sensor.
But, if the HVAC starts running, the fan shuts off until it’s done, unless I’m connected to the fan’s bluetooth speaker (taking a shower).
It’s super helpful with my ADHD too, because inevitably I’ll realize I left a light on somewhere after I get into bed. Now I have a button on my home screen that turns everything off.
I’m currently working on a sunrise/sunset automation to cycle through the color temperatures and brightness to closely match the light outside.