Philips Hue is making user accounts mandatory if you want to use its app. But there are alternatives.

According to its current privacy policy, with an account, Hue gets access to the configuration of your system to provide the right software updates to the devices. It can only use your data for marketing or share it with third parties if you provide additional consent.

However, in a change to the current policy, Yianni says Hue will not collect usage information from users without additional optional consent. “So, we do not require users share anything about how they use our products,” he says.

“Previously creating an account was consent for usage data processing that we are in the process of decoupling and will be decoupled before accounts become essential — that makes sure it’s possible to create an account without sharing usage data,” says Yianni. However, if you choose to use the cloud services for things like out-of-home connectivity, you will need an account, and Hue will process your data, he says.

If this change to the privacy policy does happen, Home Assistant’s Schoutsen agrees that it would make the requirement for an account more palatable. “But it all depends on the exact changes,” he says.

  • Butterbee (She/Her)English
    3•1 year ago

    Not sure what you mean by teaching to suck eggs, but don’t apologize! I’ve never really looked into home assistant. I thought it was an apple exclusive thing. It can be run locally?

    • GreatAlbatrossEnglish
      3•1 year ago

      Ah, I meant I didn’t want to feel like I was condescendingly explaining things to people who already knew.

      It’s free software, and supports a lot of things.

      Homeassistant can be run completely locally. The on an old pc, raspi, or even a virtual machine when you’re trying it out.

      Operation wise, you can use a browser, or the app for added functionality (for example, it can log the battery level of your phone)

      And with the various sensors and devices you can build up automations.
      So, for example, when phone battery is below 20% at 10pm, flash the bedroom light to remind you to charge.

      They even have a demo based on a fake house on their website for looking at.

      The only physical thing you’d need otherwise is a zigbee dongle (£20-ish).

      • Butterbee (She/Her)English
        3•1 year ago

        Oh wow! Thanks, it seems I have quite the rabbit hole to go down but it looks worth it! Gosh anyone remember the days when you could buy a thing and just be able to use the thing for as long as you owned it. Or when you owned the things you bought at all? Am I just a boomer?