GoKawiilHome Assistant renames its Cloud subscription service to 'Link'
Home Assistant founder Paulus Schoutsen announced the open-source smart home platform is rebranding Home Assistant Cloud as Home Assistant Link, saying the company doesn't want the word 'cloud' associated with its service. The change is largely cosmetic, with the same remote-access features plus backend speed and reliability improvements, still priced at $6.50 a month or $65 a year. Schoutsen told The Verge the rename also clears up confusion among users who mistakenly thought the platform itself ran in the cloud rather than locally on users' own hardware.
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The rebrand reflects Home Assistant's broader push to shed its reputation as a complex, enthusiast-only tool and attract mainstream users frustrated with big tech smart home ecosystems, according to Schoutsen. Framing the service around local control and privacy could appeal to users wary of cloud-dependent platforms from Google, Amazon, or Apple. The move also signals planned investments in simpler dashboards, AI-assisted setup, and a new hub next year, suggesting a longer transition toward broader consumer adoption.
- Home Assistant Cloud is being renamed Home Assistant Link, with no major feature changes beyond backend improvements.
- Pricing remains $6.50/month or $65/year, and the platform still runs locally rather than in the cloud.
- Home Assistant plans simpler dashboards, AI-driven setup, and a new consumer-friendly hub in 2025 to broaden its user base.
Home Assistant Yellow Hub — If you're intrigued by Home Assistant's push to make smart home control more local and less cloud-dependent, the official Home Assistant Yellow is a purpose-built hub for running the platform right in your own house. It's designed specifically for Home Assistant's ecosystem, making it a natural starting point for anyone wanting to ditch big tech's cloud services in favor of local control.
See Home Assistant Yellow Hub on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: theverge.com — Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, 2026-10-02
Published there as: “Home Assistant says ‘Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out’”
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