Saw this over at Home Assistant:
Apparently if you use the app on the phone to setup your devices you will now be forced to create a cloud account. I know a lot of folks just want local control and don't want to be sending data to cloud providers.
They're offering other than lights moving forward, apparently. . . notice the current app has camera listed as an accessory now.
I'm not worrying about this much. It could just be they're expanding their app and some features will require the cloud. They've already got me in their dB with my current Hue account. When 'forced' to do something different, I'll assess it all then.
Exactly! I really don't understand why so many people are completely freaking out about this in every smarthome forum lately... Of all things, this is what people are getting their panties in a bunch over?? Whatever, I guess.
I mean, I don't love this move but it doesn't surprise me at all since they are now trying to get more into the security arena.
But then again, silly me had no idea you didn't need an account till now -- I've had one ever since I got into Hue way back in the early days.
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I'm not a huge fan of this idea in theory, but the reality is that most people are probably already using a Hue account because it enables features they want, like out-of-home control or voice assistant integration. As long as they don't get rid of the local API (and maybe eventually stabilize the v2 API they've been working on for a while), this won't really affect my preferences. And since the bulbs and accessories are Zigbee, there is always the option to use them with another coordinator if you don't like using a Hue Bridge (though there are certainly cheaper options if you don't!).
I'm also moderately amused that Home Assistant, which has a barrage of cloud-only integrations from less friendly vendors as part of the standard package, seems to be freaking out the most over this, though I appreciate their advocacy (again, I don't love it) and understand that Hue may have a special place in their heart as one of the first systems the primary developer used...
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Didn't even know you could setup Hue without an account. Guess it won't be much a problem for me. Yeah, HA has quite a range of users so I wouldn't be too surprised to see a group of folks freaking out.
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I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Hue account, or if I was aware at some point, it was no longer top of mind. Opened the Hue app and sthe alert popped up:
I like how adding a cloud account is more secure. No account and local control only seems like the true fortress of solitude. 
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FTFY
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Lets see. Lutron. Apple. Amazon. Wiz. Sonos. Kasa. All are connected to my hub, all require online accounts to function fully. Some, like Alexa and Apple, know every time a light changes. Some have better privacy policies than others. At this point I can't really think of anything other than a hack that I care much about.
Wait until the Home Assistant people find out about car companies.
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My two cents with cloud accounts is how much data do they collect and if they are monetizing you along with the product. In the early days of Alexa automation if you added a device into the Alexa app, the terms were that Alexa would be the collection point of all actions with that device. This is why I never enabled the Alexa skill in the Hubitat. I don't need Amazon to know how many times we get up in the middle of the night to do a, b, or c. My Alexa app that I wrote was never put into public would never be approved for release because I didn't agree to send my telemetry to Amazon.
My main objection is that some cloud-authorised systems won't work at all when the internet connection is down. Home uncontrollable till it comes back up.
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That is the main reason I looking to replace My Ecobee which replaced a Honeywell TG Wifi with the Zwave version. Should have thought that through better. At the time It appeared there were some functions the Wifi Version didn't have that Ecobee does and it appears the Zwave version also has. Specifically an Auto function. the T6 wifi I had only had heat or cool, no auto. I don't like having to babysit the thermostat like that. especially in the spring and fall in Texas where cold evenings and morning gove way to very war/ hot days . With the addition of a power wall, I would like to have local control to be able to turn the HVAS off in the event of a grid outage to extend my back up time.
Meh, I have fully local opinions I can easily switch to if it becomes a nuisance or totally cloud dependent.
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Ecobee is 100% local with HA/HomeKit integration.
I just upgraded to iOS 17 and therefore I upgraded the Hue app. To me it doesn’t sound like I’m going to be forced to update in order to just use the app to pair devices, which is all that I use it for anyway.
My lights are remotely controlled through HomeKit via homebridge and thus Hubitat is controlling my hue bridge locally.
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