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Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

defcon.social

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Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#311

Post by BenFranklin100 »

This is beyond awful. So now this company (which will eventually get hacked) is going to share information with third parties about when people turn their lights on and off.

Get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and switch on the light called ‘bathroom’? Hue knows.

A detailed record of when you leave for work and arrive home? Hue has it.

Go on vacation for two weeks? Hue will be able to infer that too.

This is beyond a privacy nightmare. It’s a privacy horror shitshow by a corporation that tricked millions of people to invest in pricey hardware and is now forcing these same users to give up intimate details of their lives to which it can sell to the highest bidder.

Don’t bother writing a letter to Signify. Call your congress person. This is a class action lawsuit. Sue these fuckers back into the Stone Age.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#312

Post by imoverclocked »

standardUser wrote: post #306

I have a lot of Hue lights, but I hate the app and hate it even more with this change. Are there alternative apps that work well with the proprietary hardware?

They can be used via Apple HomeKit but I’m not sure about pairing in the first place without the app.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#313

Post by manicennui »

standardUser wrote: post #306

I have a lot of Hue lights, but I hate the app and hate it even more with this change. Are there alternative apps that work well with the proprietary hardware?

Walking over to the light switch and turning the lights on and off.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#314

Post by bittercynic »

standardUser wrote: post #306

I have a lot of Hue lights, but I hate the app and hate it even more with this change. Are there alternative apps that work well with the proprietary hardware?

I keep my "Hue Bridge" on a network that can't reach the internet, and it can still control the lights.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#315

Post by t0mas88 »

This will be interesting in Europe. As far as I can tell there is no explicit consent requested for "sharing with partners". It's hidden in their policy, which is not free and informed consent under GDPR. If a consumer objects to sharing their data with partners, Signify won't be allowed to do so. And they can't claim it's a required part of the service since the app has worked for years without any data uploading at all, let alone giving it to their partners.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#316

Post by tomkarho »

standardUser wrote: post #306

I have a lot of Hue lights, but I hate the app and hate it even more with this change. Are there alternative apps that work well with the proprietary hardware?

I am using this one currently and it even works faster than the official app: https://github.com/Domi04151309/HomeApp

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#317

Post by t0mas88 »

SparkyMcUnicorn wrote: post #166
anabab wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can you still set up direct connection between a switch and a light which would work even if the hub is down?

All zigbee devices require a coordinator. It can be a raspberry pi or any other hardware/software with the radio, but it does have to be powered up.

This is not true. Look into Zigbee binding, it works when the coordinator is offline.

I'm using that as a backup solution in my house. All lights are zigbee, permanently powered, normally most are controlled automatically by presence sensors. But I have a couple of Zigbee remotes in a box that are bound directly to the lights to use in case my home automation system is down.

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#318

Post by NonNefarious »

Krssst wrote: post #273
nrvn wrote: post #237

The older I get the more I de-value "smart" things. I love dumb things. Lightbulb must be dumb. Incandescent lightbulbs were a direct evolution of candles and gas lamps leveraging on simple physical laws and principles. They were not very effective turning most of the energy into heat and LED light bulbs must have been great. But they bring electronics and multiply complexity. I already cannot just simply get a light…

If I want some sort of remote control or automation, I use products that rely on an IR remote. This way a Raspberry Pi with an IR LED can do anything I want without depending on vendor software.

[dead]

Re: Philips Hue will soon force users to create an account

#320

Post by rpgwaiter »

imoverclocked wrote: post #309

I’m really really tired of privacy erosion in software and services. Matter seems cool because you can choose a privacy aware home controller but then all the extra bits offered by individual vendors still come into play. Does anyone run multiple networks with all of their smart devices disconnected from the internet via firewall/air gap/etc? Does anything function close to what an average consumer should expect in t…

All of my smart home stuff is Zigbee or z-wave. My "hub" for both is a pi4 running Home Assistant with usb dongles. I couldn't be happier with my setup. No accounts, no phoning home, just my devices and my data.

Plus all devices interoperate with each other seamlessly. 10/10 would recommend

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