Big Tech ruined the cloud, so we're renaming ours
Nabu Casa is renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link to distance the optional remote-access service from Big Tech practices and reflect its privacy-first mission.
summary is enough A branding update for an existing feature, but the discussion offers good debate on self-hosting alternatives and open-source funding.
summary
Nabu Casa announced it is renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link ahead of the December release to counter negative connotations associated with Big Tech clouds. The service remains optional, local-first, and privacy-focused, with subscription profits funding the non-profit Open Home Foundation. While the name change aims to resolve messaging friction, commenters debated whether 'cloud' remains an accurate technical descriptor and discussed alternative free tunneling options.
key points
- Home Assistant Cloud is being renamed Home Assistant Link to differentiate it from Big Tech walled gardens and mandatory data harvesting.
- The service remains entirely optional, ensuring the local smart home functions without internet connectivity or vendor lock-in.
- Subscription profits directly fund the Open Home Foundation and core Home Assistant development rather than corporate investors.
who should read it
Home Assistant users, self-hosters, and open-source software enthusiasts interested in smart home privacy.
discussion mixed
consensus
Most commenters view the rename as a branding or PR move, noting that the service still operates as a remote hosted gateway, but many happily pay the fee anyway to support the project.
pushback
Some critics argue the pricing is too high for what is essentially a tunnel, pointing out that free tools like Tailscale or Cloudflare tunnels can replicate remote access.
Guys, you don't have to use it. That's the _entire_ point. Every comment in here is some version of "But it's still a cloud". Sure. But if the entire thing can be replaced with a Tailscale free account, or a Cloudflare tunnel, or a port forward at your router (in descending order of "should you do it"), is it really the same thing? Hence the name change.
It emphasizes that the service's entirely optional nature separates it fundamentally from mandatory vendor cloud ecosystems.
Generated by an LLM from the article and thread. Check the sources before relying on it.