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.

  • JollyGreen_sasquatchEnglish
    3·
    7 hours 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·
      7 hours 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_sasquatchEnglish
        3·
        6 hours 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·
          6 hours 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.