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The landscape of home automation has sparked numerous discussions about security and control. According to SonicWall’s comprehensive 2025 Annual Cyber Threat Report, smart home products experienced a staggering 124% increase in cyberattacks during 2024, with smart plugs emerging as particularly vulnerable targets. These vulnerabilities have ignited growing consumer concern about the safety of cloud-dependent technologies that have dominated the smart home market.
As our homes become increasingly connected, the cloud-connected home automation we’ve been seeing for the past decade is being critically examined. A growing segment of consumers now seeks alternatives emphasizing local control, data privacy, and system resilience. Here we’ll examine the emerging paradigm of locally controlled smart home technologies, an approach that promises to return technological autonomy to homeowners.
The current landscape of smart home technology
The modern smart home ecosystem has evolved into an interconnected network predominantly reliant on cloud infrastructure. This cloud-centric approach requires constant internet connectivity, routing even the simplest commands through distant data centers thousands of miles away.
While promising convenience, this model introduces vulnerabilities:
- A single network interruption can render home systems inoperable.
- Each connected device becomes a potential cybersecurity entry point.
- Data privacy becomes increasingly compromised as more personal information is transmitted and stored remotely.
Real-world IoT and smart home security failures
The most troubling aspect of cloud-dependent smart home technology is the threat of planned obsolescence. Manufacturers can shut down cloud services that power devices consumers have already purchased, rendering functional hardware useless.
For example, in February 2024, Amazon announced that its Echo Connect landline adapter would cease functioning, giving users just three weeks’ notice. This transition forced vulnerable users to quickly adapt to new technologies or lose access to a potentially life-saving communication tool.
The Echo Connect shutdown is far from an isolated incident. In April 2022, Insteon abruptly shut down its servers without warning, rendering thousands of connected devices instantly nonfunctional.
These incidents expose a critical flaw in cloud-dependent systems: Consumers never truly own their devices. When business interests change or financial pressures mount, companies can—and sometimes must—abandon their customers.
Beyond platform shutdowns, security researchers continue to uncover alarming vulnerabilities in cloud-connected devices. For example, in 2020, multiple families experienced privacy violations when their Ring security cameras were compromised, allowing strangers to speak directly to family members through the devices meant to protect them.
Corporate resistance to local control
Some manufacturers have actively blocked consumers from maintaining local control of purchased devices. In January 2024, appliance giant Haier issued legal threats against a developer who created Home Assistant integration plugins for the company’s smart appliances. These open-source tools allowed consumers to control their purchased devices without relying on Haier’s cloud infrastructure.
Despite overwhelming community support, with users creating hundreds of backup copies of the developer’s work, Haier’s aggressive stance exemplifies how manufacturers prioritize maintaining control over their ecosystems rather than respecting consumer ownership rights.
These failures underscore fundamental problems with cloud-dependent smart home technologies that consumers are increasingly recognizing:
- Personal security is compromised when critical home systems depend on external servers.
- Single points of failure make entire ecosystems vulnerable.
- Personal data faces unnecessary exposure and transmission risks.
- Manufacturers maintain excessive control over hardware consumers believe they own.
There is a growing community focused on local control, like Home Assistant, where users actively discuss strategies to maintain autonomy and minimize cloud dependency.
The local control revolution
Locally controlled smart home technology represents a paradigm shift in home automation, offering a fundamentally different approach to device management and data processing. At its core, this approach keeps all smart device functionalities within your home’s local network, providing unprecedented levels of privacy, reliability, and user control. The key principles of local control are simple.
Locally controlled smart home technology represents a paradigm shift, offering fundamentally different approaches to device management and data processing:
- Local processing: Devices process information directly within the home network, delivering near-instantaneous response times
- Network independence: Systems operate independently of internet connectivity
- Privacy by design: Data processing remains within the home network, creating a barrier against external data collection
Platforms like Home Assistant and Hubitat have emerged as leaders in this revolution, offering robust, customizable ecosystems that prioritize user autonomy. These platforms empower tech-savvy users to build truly personalized smart home experiences that reflect their unique needs and values.
The path forward
The shift toward locally controlled smart home technology presents a significant opportunity for forward-thinking developers and manufacturers. As consumer demand for privacy, security, and true ownership grows, businesses that embrace this paradigm will gain competitive advantage in an increasingly crowded market.
For developers and product teams, the strategy is clear: Incorporate local processing capabilities alongside cloud features, respect user autonomy through open APIs, and build trust through transparent data practices. Companies that prioritize these values aren’t just serving a niche—they’re positioning themselves at the forefront of the next evolution in smart home technology.
The most successful smart home ecosystems won’t be those that lock users into vulnerable cloud dependencies, but those that empower customers with genuine control while delivering exceptional experiences.
Svetlin Todorov is cofounder of Shelly and CEO of Shelly U.S.A.