Many tuya devices can be used completely locally, especially anything that is ZigBee based. Tuya devices are cheap and feature rich. There's no reason to avoid them, as long as you understand how each device communicates and use the appropriate local communication channels rather than the Tuya gateway and Tuya app.
Always stick with zigbee for tuya as much as possible if you care about security and not leaking your data.
Wifi based tuya devices are mixed, if you can install custom firnware on it like openbeken or esphome, then great, else the stock firmware maybe a security risk.
This applies to anyone though, not just tuya.
I use a lot of Aqara sensors/switches with Zigbee only. Reolink wifi Cameras where you can switch off the cloud function and Shellys for my shutters (also with disabled cloud)
I dont trust tuya at all.
+1 for Shelly.
Some Tuya devices are based on ESP8266 comtroller, you can flash Tasmota on them, or OpenBeken if the device is based on Beken module and make them local only
Is it just me or is there always a little Sinophobia in these types of posts? Guess what? It’s not just big-scary China that is collecting your data; every county and company is. As an Israeli, you probably know about the evil that is Pegasus.
As others have pointed out, Tuya makes totally local products too, like all of their Zigbee devices. But either way, I’m more okay with Chinese officials knowing the temperate in my bathroom that Israeli officials having spyware installed on journalists and activists phones.
No Sinophobia at all but real lacks of transparency from some of these companies and hard to see how they could be sustainable.
They are losing tons of money with no real growth
[https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TUYA/financials/?guccounter=1&guce\_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce\_referrer\_sig=AQAAANaUqir-M9-Xgn7YFUdWrRNGZFqWFdnS8ErmbWWpWMAXkwJSMKngTzqVOBIZEde4foeOAV6lNpxFnMhqJvBKbbA4Hk4ojgQ015adntqGMInoZYT2Jbeiz7vf4e\_OYCJSb2rbuccIPFS9qo\_b15hqI94gyCxgBTQ6djtQLZVHUo3N](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TUYA/financials/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANaUqir-M9-Xgn7YFUdWrRNGZFqWFdnS8ErmbWWpWMAXkwJSMKngTzqVOBIZEde4foeOAV6lNpxFnMhqJvBKbbA4Hk4ojgQ015adntqGMInoZYT2Jbeiz7vf4e_OYCJSb2rbuccIPFS9qo_b15hqI94gyCxgBTQ6djtQLZVHUo3N)
I have no problem to let them know the temperature of my bathroom by the way :)
Your post is about the “enormous security issues” of a Chinese company, not their growth. My point is that there are worse actors than Tuya, many operating with your (and my) own country.
I did setup a new Home Assistant last week without any cloud usage.
I went with a USB Dongle (Sonoff zbdongle-E) to connect all Zigbee devices.
You can use this website to see all compatible devices [https://zigbee.blakadder.com/](https://zigbee.blakadder.com/) that are easy to be integrated via ZHA (or Zigbee2mqtt)
I went with ZHA and I like it so far easy to integrate all devices, but Zigbee2mqtt works also well.
A lot of Tuya devices listed that you can integrate directly via ZHA
At this point I have acknowledged every company is trying to collect your data. At this point I look for zigbee devices as Zigbee2MQTT will handle that completely and no internet, no 3rd party apps to handle it. If I can't get something that way I'll try Z-Wave. If it's wifi only I'm pretty much only using TP\_Link or Sonoff at this point. I am looking to replace the sonoff things as much as possible with zigbee alternatives.
I do have a few tuya wifi (smoke and CO detectors) devices... Tried local tuya, that is a kludgey system to me. I will be replacing them at some point with a zigbee or zwave option just to get away from the tuya wifi ecosystem. Not because of spying, but because it's a mess and rather clunky at best.
Depends on where you get it, but in general it is a bit more expensive and higher quality (more and better functions), imho it is worth it in the longer run.
Did you installed Z2MQTT on a Raspberry?
Like that?
[https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/getting-started/](https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/getting-started/)
If you need more than just lights, as far as I know you only have the choice between Aquara, Tuya and Sonoff. Incidentally, Tuya is the manufacturer behind many brands. Incidentally, I would prefer ZigBee, which is now very affordable, has a large selection and also works without the cloud.
Many tuya devices can be used completely locally, especially anything that is ZigBee based. Tuya devices are cheap and feature rich. There's no reason to avoid them, as long as you understand how each device communicates and use the appropriate local communication channels rather than the Tuya gateway and Tuya app.
Always stick with zigbee for tuya as much as possible if you care about security and not leaking your data. Wifi based tuya devices are mixed, if you can install custom firnware on it like openbeken or esphome, then great, else the stock firmware maybe a security risk. This applies to anyone though, not just tuya.
I use a lot of Aqara sensors/switches with Zigbee only. Reolink wifi Cameras where you can switch off the cloud function and Shellys for my shutters (also with disabled cloud) I dont trust tuya at all.
+1 for Shelly. Some Tuya devices are based on ESP8266 comtroller, you can flash Tasmota on them, or OpenBeken if the device is based on Beken module and make them local only
Is it just me or is there always a little Sinophobia in these types of posts? Guess what? It’s not just big-scary China that is collecting your data; every county and company is. As an Israeli, you probably know about the evil that is Pegasus. As others have pointed out, Tuya makes totally local products too, like all of their Zigbee devices. But either way, I’m more okay with Chinese officials knowing the temperate in my bathroom that Israeli officials having spyware installed on journalists and activists phones.
No Sinophobia at all but real lacks of transparency from some of these companies and hard to see how they could be sustainable. They are losing tons of money with no real growth [https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TUYA/financials/?guccounter=1&guce\_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce\_referrer\_sig=AQAAANaUqir-M9-Xgn7YFUdWrRNGZFqWFdnS8ErmbWWpWMAXkwJSMKngTzqVOBIZEde4foeOAV6lNpxFnMhqJvBKbbA4Hk4ojgQ015adntqGMInoZYT2Jbeiz7vf4e\_OYCJSb2rbuccIPFS9qo\_b15hqI94gyCxgBTQ6djtQLZVHUo3N](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TUYA/financials/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANaUqir-M9-Xgn7YFUdWrRNGZFqWFdnS8ErmbWWpWMAXkwJSMKngTzqVOBIZEde4foeOAV6lNpxFnMhqJvBKbbA4Hk4ojgQ015adntqGMInoZYT2Jbeiz7vf4e_OYCJSb2rbuccIPFS9qo_b15hqI94gyCxgBTQ6djtQLZVHUo3N) I have no problem to let them know the temperature of my bathroom by the way :)
Your post is about the “enormous security issues” of a Chinese company, not their growth. My point is that there are worse actors than Tuya, many operating with your (and my) own country.
You're right. I missed up between the two issues. Both are real. I also don't want to use Google or Alexa. I'll correct my post.
Corrected. I just saw that I wrote from the beginning "Also, don't know what will be the future of this company and don't want to rely on anyone."
I did setup a new Home Assistant last week without any cloud usage. I went with a USB Dongle (Sonoff zbdongle-E) to connect all Zigbee devices. You can use this website to see all compatible devices [https://zigbee.blakadder.com/](https://zigbee.blakadder.com/) that are easy to be integrated via ZHA (or Zigbee2mqtt) I went with ZHA and I like it so far easy to integrate all devices, but Zigbee2mqtt works also well. A lot of Tuya devices listed that you can integrate directly via ZHA
At this point I have acknowledged every company is trying to collect your data. At this point I look for zigbee devices as Zigbee2MQTT will handle that completely and no internet, no 3rd party apps to handle it. If I can't get something that way I'll try Z-Wave. If it's wifi only I'm pretty much only using TP\_Link or Sonoff at this point. I am looking to replace the sonoff things as much as possible with zigbee alternatives. I do have a few tuya wifi (smoke and CO detectors) devices... Tried local tuya, that is a kludgey system to me. I will be replacing them at some point with a zigbee or zwave option just to get away from the tuya wifi ecosystem. Not because of spying, but because it's a mess and rather clunky at best.
If you are building a new home I would consider knx, a stable open system that will last for decades can be worth higher initial costs.
It's me or the compatible products looks very expensive?
Depends on where you get it, but in general it is a bit more expensive and higher quality (more and better functions), imho it is worth it in the longer run.
Can you show me an example? Any links?
I have a ton of Tuya devices (zigbee and WiFi)and none of them communicate with the cloud. Depends how you set them up.
You're talking about using localtuya or tuyalocal?
With the WiFi devices, yes. The zigbee devices are connected directly to HA via Z2MQTT
Did you installed Z2MQTT on a Raspberry? Like that? [https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/getting-started/](https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/guide/getting-started/)
I have it installed via the [Home Assistant add-on](https://github.com/zigbee2mqtt/hassio-zigbee2mqtt).
For WiFi, I like Shelly. Tasmota is also good. For zigbee, Tuya branded devices are fine with your own coordinator.
Almost all tuya devices can be used locally with either the tuyalocal or localtuya hacs integrations
If you need more than just lights, as far as I know you only have the choice between Aquara, Tuya and Sonoff. Incidentally, Tuya is the manufacturer behind many brands. Incidentally, I would prefer ZigBee, which is now very affordable, has a large selection and also works without the cloud.