If you want privacy, staying out of cloud, and interop between device vendors, the home automation for dummies approach is:
Buy devices from Eve, which works with HomeKit and other HomeKit devices.
Other suggestions here miss the privacy angle insofar as privacy also requires security.
> Smart home company Eve built its entire business model on local control. “Our privacy platform is ‘what’s at home stays at home,’” Jerome Gackel, Eve Systems CEO, tells me. “With Matter, you do not need a cloud — you can have one, but it’s not a requirement.” Its commitment to avoiding cloud control is why Eve devices have been iPhone- and HomeKit-only thus far. But with Matter, Eve can move to the other platforms while remaining entirely local.
Buy devices from Eve, which works with HomeKit and other HomeKit devices.
Other suggestions here miss the privacy angle insofar as privacy also requires security.
> Smart home company Eve built its entire business model on local control. “Our privacy platform is ‘what’s at home stays at home,’” Jerome Gackel, Eve Systems CEO, tells me. “With Matter, you do not need a cloud — you can have one, but it’s not a requirement.” Its commitment to avoiding cloud control is why Eve devices have been iPhone- and HomeKit-only thus far. But with Matter, Eve can move to the other platforms while remaining entirely local.