Privacy-compatible "smart" electric outlet?

[mister_bludgeon]

Hey everyone,

I would like an outdoor, wifi-enabled electric outlet adapter so I can turn on the heat in a cat shelter. My dream device would have an IP address, an authentication mechanism, and an API with at least three functions: turn it on; turn it off; report whether it’s on or off.

Every product I see online (e.g, https://www.costco.com/feit-electric-wi-fi-smart-outdoor-plug%2C-2-pack.product.100515906.html) brags about compatibility with Alex, Google Home, and the like. But I consider these are liabilities, not features. I am happy to control it from inside my home network with curl or a dedicated client I would write. If I want to control it from afar I would SSH onto a box inside my home network and do it from there.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[Akito]

Greetings, nice to see you here.

@mister_bludgeon

Every product I see online (e.g, https://www.costco.com/feit-electric-wi-fi-smart-outdoor-plug%2C-2-pack.product.100515906.html) brags about compatibility with Alex, Google Home, and the like. But I consider these are liabilities, not features.

Precisely. Indubitably.

@mister_bludgeon

I am happy to control it from inside my home network with curl or a dedicated client I would write.

That’s too much difficult work for most users, which is why such products aren’t popular, which also means it’s hard to find, if it is at all available.

The best thing I can think of for your situation would be to check out what devices are most compatible with something like OpenHAB and then pick one from those. As far as I know, this is the best middle ground you can get, without spending too much money and effort on such a little thing.

If a device is compatible with that open source application, then you will be able to use it without the spyware, even if you cannot control it directly through curl.