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.
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
View all →
Athom vs Shelly Plus vs Eve Energy: Privacy 2026
Athom HomeKit plug vs Shelly Plus PM vs Eve Energy in 2026: Thread vs Wi-Fi Matter, when Homebridge is worth it, and keeping energy telemetry on your LAN.
Home Assistant Bluetooth Proxy: ESP32 vs USB Dongle
Home Assistant Bluetooth proxy in 2026: ESP32 ESPHome vs USB dongle vs built-in Pi radio for BLE range, local-only forwarding, and where to place proxies for Matter accessories.
Nest vs Ecobee vs Honeywell: Privacy & Control 2026
Nest Learning vs Ecobee Premium vs Honeywell T6 for privacy in 2026: Google cloud depth, Ecobee account telemetry, and Z-Wave local HVAC control trade-offs.
Shelly Gen3 vs Gen4 vs Tuya: Local Control 2026
Shelly Gen3 vs Gen4 vs Tuya Wi-Fi for Home Assistant in 2026: local REST/MQTT, Matter rollout, when Tuya Local works, and how cloud defaults affect privacy.
Wi-Fi 6E vs Wi-Fi 7: Smart Home IoT Privacy 2026
Wi-Fi 6E vs Wi-Fi 7 for smart homes in 2026: 6 GHz vs MLO, IoT airtime, segmenting guest and IoT SSIDs, and why Wi-Fi privacy still needs VLAN policy.
Alexa vs Google Home vs Apple Home: Privacy 2026
Alexa vs Google Home vs Apple Home vs Home Assistant for privacy in 2026: where voice hits the cloud, hub requirements, Matter support, and local-first control trade-offs.