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Home Assistant is renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link, a mostly symbolic change intended to make clear that the platform runs locally. The paid service’s features and price remain the same, according to the source report; Home Assistant is also planning usability changes and a new hub to attract less technical users.
Home Assistant is renaming its optional Home Assistant Cloud service to Home Assistant Link, a change founder Paulus Schoutsen says reflects the project’s opposition to smart-home products that depend on remote servers. The service’s features remain largely the same, while the platform is also working on changes intended to make Home Assistant easier for new users to set up and use.
The new name is mostly symbolic, according to The Verge’s report. Link will continue to provide remote access to a Home Assistant installation, as well as optional internet-dependent features such as Alexa and Google voice control, speech-to-text, text-to-speech and encrypted backups. The report says the service costs $6.50 a month or $65 a year; it does not describe the rebrand as a change to that pricing.
Home Assistant runs on local hardware and controls devices locally, but users generally cannot reach their installation from outside their home network without a remote-access method. Link offers one option. The report says users can also replicate its functions through other methods, and the paid service is not required to use Home Assistant.
Schoutsen told The Verge the service is run by Nabu Casa, Home Assistant’s commercial partner, and that its traffic is encrypted. He said Link cannot access users’ data. The service also supports development: the report says 60 percent of its profit goes to the nonprofit Open Home Foundation, which runs Home Assistant.
A Local-First Choice for Smart Homes
The rebrand speaks to a distinction that matters to smart-home owners: remote access is not the same as cloud-dependent control. Home Assistant’s core system can operate locally, while Link supplies convenience and features that need an internet connection. The name change is meant to reduce the impression that Home Assistant itself runs in the cloud.
The broader concern is what happens when a manufacturer stops supporting an online service. Schoutsen cited cases including Nest ending cloud support for older thermostats and Weber discontinuing servers for its June Oven. In the latter case, he said owners were left with a costly oven whose connected functions were impaired. These examples were his argument for local control; the report does not independently detail the impact on each product.
For buyers, the issue is whether basic functions remain available if a company’s servers go offline, and who can access data sent online. Home Assistant’s position may appeal to people seeking local control, but the report also says its estimated 2.7 million installations remain far below the reach of major smart-home platforms. Attracting mainstream users will depend on making the system less difficult without removing its flexibility.
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Why the Name Was a Problem
Home Assistant is an open-source smart-home platform that can connect devices and automate them from local hardware. Its wide range of integrations and options gives users flexibility, but Schoutsen said that breadth also creates a steep learning curve. People often discover the platform after reaching the limits of products such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Apple Home, according to his account.
The project’s criticism of cloud-dependent products sat awkwardly beside a service called Home Assistant Cloud. Schoutsen told The Verge that some prospective users took the name to mean the platform itself ran remotely. The new Link name is intended to clarify the service’s role, not to remove its online features.
Home Assistant’s team is also pursuing broader changes. The report says it plans simpler dashboards, more intuitive setup and the use of generative AI to reduce complexity. A successor to the Home Assistant Green hub is planned for next year, with Schoutsen describing the goal as making setup more like onboarding a Philips Hue hub. The report also says the HACS community store is due to be integrated into Home Assistant the following month, making community-built integrations easier to find and install.
“Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out.”
— Paulus Schoutsen, Home Assistant founder, speaking to The Verge
What the Rebrand Does Not Change
The report describes the name change as largely symbolic and says the service’s features are staying in place, with back-end improvements intended to increase speed and reliability. It does not specify what those improvements involve, when they will reach users, or whether the service’s published price will change later.
Schoutsen’s statements about data access and privacy are attributable claims from the founder. The source report says Link traffic is encrypted, but does not provide a technical audit or independent verification of how the service handles data. The report also does not give a launch date for the planned successor hub, explain how generative AI will be used, or provide details about the developing “No Device Left Behind” program, whose description is cut off in the supplied source material.
Usability Plans and the New Hub
The next milestones described in the report are the planned integration of the HACS community store into Home Assistant the following month and the launch of a more user-friendly hub successor next year. Those timings are reported plans, not confirmation that either release has shipped. The team is also working on simpler dashboards, easier setup and generative-AI features aimed at lowering the learning curve.
Schoutsen said Nabu Casa is developing a database to help consumers identify products that do not depend fully on cloud services. The source also mentions a “No Device Left Behind” program to help connect existing analog or legacy equipment, but the available report excerpt does not provide enough detail to establish its scope or timing.
Key Questions
What is Home Assistant Link?
Home Assistant Link is the new name for Home Assistant Cloud, an optional paid service for remote access and other internet-dependent features.
Does Home Assistant now run in the cloud?
No. The report says Home Assistant runs on local hardware and controls a smart home locally. Link enables access from outside the home network and supports selected features that need an internet connection.
How much does Link cost?
The source report lists the price as $6.50 a month or $65 a year. It describes the rebrand as mostly symbolic and does not report a pricing change.
Is Link required to use Home Assistant?
No. According to the report, Home Assistant Cloud was optional, and users could use other methods to provide the same functions. The report says that remains true under the Link name.
What changes are planned to make Home Assistant easier?
Plans described in the report include simpler dashboards, more intuitive setup, integrating the HACS community store, and a more user-friendly hub successor planned for next year. The report does not give a release date for the hub.
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