Big Tech ruined the cloud, so we're renaming ours
Home Assistant is rebranding its paid “Cloud” service to “Link” to emphasize that the smart home platform runs locally and the subscription mainly provides an optional secure relay, voice services, and backups. Commenters largely welcome the privacy- and self‑hosting‑first ethos, but debate whether the service is overpriced compared to DIY options like VPNs and Cloudflare tunnels, and whether its current permissions model is too limited for homes with children or semi‑trusted users. The exchange also reflects broader skepticism toward Big Tech–style cloud dependence, with some arguing that branding and architecture must clearly distinguish between truly optional connectivity and products that stop working without a vendor’s servers.
Rename & branding rationale
- Many see rebranding “Home Assistant Cloud” to “Home Assistant Link” as sensible because HA is local-first; the paid service mainly provides a remote connection.
- Some call the announcement overblown marketing for what is essentially a rename and technical refactor (bare-metal relays, regional proximity).
- A few think the long justification is unnecessary, but others say the old name caused confusion when HA advocates told people to avoid “cloud-required” products.
Nature of the service (optional vs required cloud)
- Strong emphasis from multiple commenters: HA works fully offline; Link/Cloud is optional and primarily a convenience tunnel plus extras (STT/TTS, backups, media relay, voice integrations).
- Contrast is drawn with consumer devices that stop working without a vendor cloud.
Security, permissions, and RBAC debate
- Significant thread on HA’s lack of “serious” RBAC:
- Critics: current permissions are entity-centric, coarse, group-based, and don’t cover all object types; hard to tailor per-user or per-integration access (e.g., limiting third-party apps or kids’ control).
- Defenders: in a home context, few people need enterprise-style RBAC; extra complexity would burden most users and cost a lot to build and maintain.
- Some argue better authorization is becoming necessary in an “agents everywhere” future; others respond that not everyone needs or wants high automation.
Privacy & data handling
- Some demand end-to-end encryption with the provider only acting as a rendezvous; others reply that this is how the service already works and link to documentation.
- One commenter insists HA should be installable and usable without any unsolicited outbound connections; today installation requires internet access and several cloud fetches.
Pricing and alternatives
- Mixed views on price: some say ~€5/month is “overpriced” vs free options (Cloudflare Tunnel, VPNs, self-hosted STT/TTS, R2 backups); others see it as reasonable support for a standout open-source project.
- Several explicitly keep subscriptions mainly to fund HA, even if they rarely use remote access.
Broader “cloud” and big-tech sentiment
- Discussion branches into what “cloud” means (someone else’s computer vs IaaS/PaaS vs generic remote service) and how big-tech offerings have become “landlord-like” or enshittified.
- Some see the rename as distancing from that ecosystem; skeptics note it’s still proprietary SaaS, just with different branding.