Yes, when the house runs locally. The phone is a remote. We do not configure your hub.
How a Privacy Phone works with a smart home
Install Home Assistant or openHAB on the phone. Join the same Wi-Fi as the hub.
Put the house apps in their own profile if you want them fenced off.
Sandboxed Play is there if a vendor app insists. It is off at dispatch.
A Google Home or Alexa house sends the building to someone else’s cloud. A local hub keeps that traffic on your network.
The phone does not invent that setup. It refuses to make a Google account the front door.
What works well with a Privacy Phone
Home Assistant Companion. Dashboards, automations, and voice on the hub, not in Google.
openHAB, if that is already the brain of the house.
Bluetooth devices. Pair, then let the radio sleep. Every Privacy Phone turns Bluetooth off after 10 minutes with no connection, so the handset is not sitting there advertising. Turn it back on when you next pair.
What a Privacy Phone adds to a smart home
The network tile cuts an app’s internet, so the companion can stay on local Wi-Fi only. See kill switches.
A separate profile puts the camera app in its own room, away from mail. See isolation features.
MAC randomisation makes the phone harder to follow from network to network. It does not make it invisible on your own Wi-Fi.
Google Home and Alexa on a Privacy Phone
Those apps expect a Google or Amazon account. They are not the default. If you still need one bridge, sandbox it and keep it off the profile you live in. A separate profile is the clean way. How to add the app is in install apps on a Privacy Phone.
Common questions
Will Home Assistant work without a Google account?
Yes. That is the point. The companion app talks to your hub.
Do you set up the smart home?
No. We ship the phone. The hub, the lights and the automations are yours.
Can a vendor camera app still phone home?
Yes, if you allow it the network. Put it in its own profile, and use the network tile when you want it local only.
