Hi All,

Looking to steer into HA, but have some questions on how data is handled.

First, I don’t mean the opt-in on the scant analytics. HA is very clear about that which is great. Awesome clear policy.

Second, I understand that “integrations”, which use a device manufacturer’s/services software/infrastructure, are outside scope here (although I do have some questions).

My goal is to find and work a system where no one knows when my lights are turning off and on, and is only on my hardware. IE: If the internet went down, but I was still connected to local wifi, can my HA still work?

The answer seems like a strong “yes”, but I want to double check. I also want to make sure if I do use an integration that there’s not an avenue for telemetry beyond that integration. IE: I don’t want Spotify to gain access to what temperature I keep my house just because I want to play music.

I also have questions about the mobile app, but if the rest is truly locked down, I can navigate that.

I currently have an automated bog garden, but how I did it isn’t really scalable. It’s all modbus components with values passed to a local server to generate a dashboard. I’d like to expand to more actual “home” automation, and this seems like a great tool!

Thanks for any clarification.

  • batmaniam@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    this is fantastic, I’m really excited. I do have a follow up on non-hardware integrations though. I know when I download anything on my phone, it’s sharing all sorts of crap. Does HA allow integrations to do that? Going back to spotify example, I understand spotify can obviously track things on their end (what song they’re giving me etc), but integrations don’t let them see humidity in my basement right?

    • roofuskit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      If the integration has a cloud symbol you should assume it’s sharing data. There is an unofficial integration “store” called HACS. Those integrations are not reviewed by Home Assistant so you cannot be sure even if it is marked as not being a cloud integration, unless you review the code it may do things you are unaware of. That said, many HACS integrations are worth considering.

        • batmaniam@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          1·
          2 days ago

          Glad to hear it, it’s not so much suspicious as the principle. It’s weird, I just hate the notion that if I bump up my thermostat a degree or two someone who I pay to give me music is keeping track.

      • batmaniam@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        Clear answer, thank you so much. Glad to hear there’s a community. Worst case scenario I can always make it so a self-hosted voice to text triggers a script on a local device through a spotify API.

        • JollyGreen_sasquatch@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          By syncing data, it isn’t all data, just that it requires non-local resources, ie cloud/API, to function. You do have to look at each integration to see what it is doing, I would expect a Spotify integration is just hitting the Spotify API and maybe can interact with local devices that Spotify can stream to (ie a Chromecast)

          • batmaniam@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
            2·
            2 days ago

            And it’s explicitly “not all data”? I’m really impressed by the community, I’d assume if a Philips lightbulb was getting access to geolocation data via HA someone would have noticed.

            • JollyGreen_sasquatch@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
              3·
              2 days ago

              If Phillips wrote the plugin it might but all the plugins I have looked at are written by the community. Most plugins are only polling based, so they are scraping data into HAs recorder plugin.

              • batmaniam@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
                2·
                2 days ago

                thanks, the fact that there’s this level of insight in the community makes me comfortable of going down this road. I’ll keep an eye on integrations.