Connected Life

Cameras, Locks and Home Privacy

Connected devices that watch, listen or guard the door, and what they mean for privacy.

How Smart Locks Work

How keypad, Bluetooth and app-controlled smart locks operate, what happens during a power failure or dead battery, and how to share access with others carefully.

5 min read

Local or Cloud Storage for Camera Footage

Compare keeping camera recordings on a device or memory card with a provider's cloud service, looking at cost, remote access, reliability and privacy risks.

5 min read

Matter and Smart Home Standards Explained

Why smart home standards exist, what the Matter standard aims to fix, how it works with Thread and Wi-Fi, and what compatibility does and does not guarantee.

4 min read

Smart Home Hubs: Do You Need One?

What a smart home hub does, how hub-based and hubless setups compare on reliability, privacy and flexibility, and how to decide whether you need one.

4 min read

Smart Plugs and Energy Monitors Explained

What smart plugs and energy monitors can measure and automate, how to read watts and kilowatt-hours, and why the promise of big savings is usually modest.

4 min read

Why Smart Devices Stop Getting Updates

Why makers end software support for smart home gadgets, what end-of-life means, the security risks of unsupported devices, and how to check support before buying.

4 min read

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