Independent Research

Privacy Smart Home

Privacy-focused smart home comparisons, buying guides, and local-first implementation playbooks.

Technical buying guides and product comparisons for privacy-minded users who want local control, data ownership, and a cloud-optional smart home.

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What we cover

Local NVR camera systems with no mandatory cloud
Home Assistant–compatible hubs with strict local control
Offline-first smart lock and doorbell comparisons
Network hardening: VLANs, firewall rules, IoT segmentation

Latest guides

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OPNsense firewall diagram for blocking hardcoded DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS bootstrap IP addresses on a smart TV VLAN: packet capture identifies Google 8.8.8.8 and Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 resolver flows on ports 443 and 853, NAT redirect on port 53 to AdGuard Home, and deny rules that restore local DNS filtering for privacy-focused smart home networks as of September 2026.

How-To

Block Hardcoded DoH and DoT Bootstrap IPs in OPNsense

Advanced OPNsense guide to identify, intercept, and drop hardcoded DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS bootstrap IPs used by smart TVs—verified September 2026.

Sep 4, 2026

Buying Guides

Valetudo Robot Vacuum Rootability and Firmware Matrix

Live firmware matrix for valetudo supported robots: 2025-2026 Roborock, Dreame, and Ecovacs factory builds, rootable versions, and safe-to-buy manufacturing windows.

Sep 3, 2026

Privacy Smart Home diagram comparing Tuya Wi-Fi local key extraction paths and Aqara hub LAN token workflows for offline Home Assistant control, with IoT VLAN WAN blocking and tinytuya wizard steps documented September 2026.

How-To

How to Extract Tuya & Aqara Local Keys Without Cloud

Extract Tuya local keys and Aqara hub tokens for offline Home Assistant control—tinytuya wizard, HA export, and one-time pairing before WAN deny.

Sep 2, 2026

September 2026 seven-day WAN-deny lab diagram showing OPNsense default-deny firewall on IoT VLAN 40, Aqara M3 hub Zigbee and Matter local API paths, Reolink Home Hub local RTSP and microSD storage, Tuya Zigbee 3.0 gateway cloud MQTT failure and boot-loop risk, Home Assistant 2026.8 control plane, and 168-hour hub survivability scores for privacy-focused local automation when you block IoT internet access.

Smart Home Privacy

7-Day WAN-Deny Test: What Happens to IoT Hubs Offline?

Empirical testing of Aqara, Reolink, and Tuya hubs blocked from WAN access for 168 hours. We track stream drops, boot loops, and local API lockout behaviors.

Sep 1, 2026

Network hardening diagram for go2rtc and Home Assistant after August 2026 RCE and SSRF disclosures: automation host on trusted VLAN 10, go2rtc API bound to localhost 1984, camera VLAN 40 with default-deny WAN egress, OPNsense firewall blocking lateral movement from IoT to HA management ports, and patched go2rtc v1.9.14 on Frigate and Scrypted sidecars.

How-To

Hardening go2rtc and Home Assistant Against RCE & SSRF

Emergency go2rtc hardening after August 2026 RCE and HA SSRF: patch v1.9.14, bind localhost, firewall isolation, and VLAN rules for Frigate and Scrypted.

Aug 31, 2026

Infographic of Home Assistant 2026.8 local AI voice pipeline showing Speech-to-Phrase or Whisper STT via Wyoming, llama.cpp or LiteLLM LLM conversation agents, Piper TTS, and hardware tiers from Raspberry Pi 5 to RTX 3060 GPU for privacy-first whole-home voice control August 2026.

Architecture

Home Assistant 2026.8: Is Local AI Voice Ready to Replace Cloud?

Home Assistant 2026.8 removes Advanced mode gates for voice, adds llama.cpp and LiteLLM integrations. RAM/GPU requirements and when local voice beats cloud.

Aug 30, 2026