Cloudless Smart Home™

Cloud connected, not cloud dependent

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2025
Last Updated: August 2, 2025

Introduction

At Cloudless Smart Home LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”), privacy is at the core of everything we do. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, use our services, purchase our products, or participate in our community.

We are committed to providing privacy-focused, locally-controlled technology solutions that respect your fundamental right to privacy. Unlike many technology companies, we believe your data belongs to you, not us.

Our Privacy Philosophy

Our business model is built on privacy by design:

  • We minimize data collection to only what’s necessary for our services
  • We process data locally whenever possible
  • We never sell your personal information
  • We provide transparent control over your data
  • We use open-source solutions that you can audit and control

Our “Cloudless” Approach to Cloud Services

While we are called “Cloudless Smart Home,” we believe in honest transparency about when cloud services are beneficial or necessary. Some automations (weather, traffic, advanced AI) work better with cloud connectivity, but all cloud services are entirely OPTIONAL.

Our Cloud Service Principles:

  • Local First: We always explore local alternatives
  • Explicit Opt-In: You must specifically authorize each cloud service
  • Easy Opt-Out: You can disable cloud services at any time
  • Clear Alternatives: We explain local options for every cloud feature
  • Minimal Data: We only share data necessary for the specific service
  • Your Choice: Full functionality is available with purely local setup

Cloud Service Categories We May Offer:

  • Weather & Environmental: Forecasting, air quality, environmental monitoring
  • Traffic & Transportation: Real-time traffic, commute optimization, transit data
  • Advanced AI: Natural language processing, pattern recognition, predictive automation
  • Device Integration: Remote access, third-party cloud device connectivity
  • Media Services: Streaming platforms, music services, news automation

Remote Access Options (For “Cloudless” Remote Control):

We offer two main approaches for secure remote access to your local smart home:

  1. Point-to-Point VPN: We can configure a secure, private tunnel directly to your home network. This is more technical but completely private with a one-time setup cost.
  2. Nabu Casa: Home Assistant’s official cloud service ($6.50/month) provides easy one-click remote access while supporting Home Assistant development.

Important: We do NOT use or recommend commercial “privacy VPN” services (the ones you see advertised everywhere). Our VPN solutions create secure, direct connections to YOUR specific home network.

Important: You can choose a fully local setup and decline all cloud services. Some features will be limited, but core smart home functionality remains fully operational offline.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

  • Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, mailing address
  • Account Information: Username, password, profile preferences when you create an account
  • Service Requests: Details about your smart home setup, technical requirements, and service preferences
  • Communication Records: Messages, support tickets, and consultation notes
  • Payment Information: Billing details, shipping addresses, order history processed through secure payment processors
  • Ecommerce Data: Purchase history, shopping cart contents, product reviews, warranty registrations
  • Community Participation: Comments, forum posts, profile information you choose to share publicly
  • User-Generated Content: Photos, videos, testimonials, project documentation you share with us or our community

Information Collected Automatically

  • Website Usage: Pages visited, time spent, referring websites, search terms (via privacy-respecting analytics)
  • Technical Information: IP address, browser type, device information, operating system (anonymized when possible)
  • Ecommerce Analytics: Products viewed, cart abandonment data, purchase patterns (aggregated and anonymized)
  • Cookies and Tracking: Essential cookies for website functionality, shopping cart, and user sessions
  • Anti-Fraud Data: Transaction patterns and device fingerprints for fraud prevention

Information from Third Parties

  • Payment Processors: Transaction confirmations, payment status, and fraud detection alerts
  • Service Partners: Installation updates and project status from authorized contractors
  • Shipping Providers: Delivery confirmations and tracking information
  • Marketplace Platforms: Order and customer data when you purchase through Amazon or other third-party platforms
  • Review Platforms: Public reviews and ratings you post on external sites about our products

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Provide and improve our smart home installation and consulting services
  • Process ecommerce orders, payments, and shipping
  • Communicate about your projects, orders, and service requests
  • Provide customer support and warranty services
  • Manage user accounts and community features
  • Send order confirmations, shipping notifications, and service updates
  • Prevent fraud and maintain security
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Improve our products and services based on aggregated usage data
  • Facilitate community discussions and user-generated content sharing

We do NOT use your information to:

  • Create advertising profiles for third-party marketing
  • Sell personal information to data brokers
  • Track you across other websites for advertising purposes
  • Build detailed behavioral profiles for marketing manipulation
  • Share personal information with competitors

Data Sharing and Disclosure

Limited Sharing

We may share your information only with:

  • Service Partners: Authorized contractors and suppliers directly involved in your project
  • Payment Processors: Secure payment services that meet PCI DSS standards (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)
  • Shipping Providers: Carriers needed to deliver your orders (UPS, FedEx, USPS)
  • Ecommerce Platforms: Third-party marketplaces where you purchase our products (Amazon, eBay)
  • Cloud Services: Secure hosting and backup services that meet our privacy standards
  • Anti-Fraud Services: Legitimate fraud prevention services to protect you and us
  • Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect our rights and safety
  • Business Transfers: In the event of a merger or acquisition (with notice to users)

Community and Public Information

  • Public Posts: Information you post in our community forums is public by design
  • Product Reviews: Reviews and testimonials you provide may be displayed publicly
  • User-Generated Content: Photos, videos, or documentation you share may be featured publicly with your permission

What We Never Share

  • We never sell personal information to third parties for marketing purposes
  • We never share data with advertising networks for profiling
  • We never provide information to data brokers
  • We never share private messages or confidential project details
  • We never share payment information beyond what’s necessary for transaction processing

Our Local-First Approach

Home Assistant Installations

  • Your smart home data stays on your local network
  • No cloud dependencies for core functionality
  • You maintain complete control over your data
  • We provide education to help you manage your own system

Business AI Solutions

  • Local AI processing when technically feasible
  • Transparent disclosure when cloud services are necessary
  • Options for fully offline solutions
  • Clear data retention and deletion policies

Community Features and User-Generated Content

Forum Comments and Discussions

When you participate in our community forums or leave comments:

  • Your username and profile information become publicly visible
  • Comments and posts are retained indefinitely to maintain discussion continuity
  • We collect your IP address and browser information for spam detection
  • Moderation may be applied to ensure community guidelines are followed

Public Profile Information

If you create a community account:

  • You control what information appears in your public profile
  • Profile pictures may be provided by Gravatar service (see their privacy policy)
  • Your posting history and reputation within the community may be visible to other users
  • You can edit most profile information at any time (username changes may have restrictions)

User-Generated Content Sharing

When you share content with our community:

  • Photos and Videos: May include location data (EXIF) – we recommend removing this before upload
  • Project Documentation: May be featured in our marketing materials with your explicit permission
  • Product Reviews: May be displayed on our website and shared with potential customers
  • Testimonials: May be used across our marketing channels with your consent

Privacy Warnings and Your Responsibility

Important Notice: When participating in public community areas, you are responsible for the information you choose to share. We strongly advise:

  • Never post personal contact information (phone numbers, addresses) in public areas
  • Avoid sharing sensitive technical details about your home security setup
  • Be cautious about sharing photos that might reveal personal information
  • Consider using a username that doesn’t reveal your real identity

Community Moderation

We reserve the right to:

  • Remove content that violates our community guidelines
  • Suspend or ban accounts for repeated violations
  • Edit content for clarity or to remove personal information accidentally posted
  • Archive or delete inactive community content after reasonable notice

Third-Party Sales Channels and Marketplaces

Amazon and Other Marketplaces

When you purchase our products through third-party platforms:

Amazon Marketplace

  • Separate Privacy Policies: Amazon has its own privacy policy that governs your interactions on their platform
  • Shared Information: We receive order details, shipping information, and customer contact data necessary for fulfillment
  • Reviews and Ratings: Amazon may share review data with us for product improvement purposes
  • No Direct Communication: We cannot access your Amazon account information beyond what’s provided for order fulfillment
  • Returns and Refunds: Processed according to Amazon’s policies, though we may receive return data for quality control

Other Marketplaces (eBay, Etsy, etc.)

  • Each platform has its own privacy practices and data handling procedures
  • We receive only information necessary to fulfill your order
  • Customer service may be handled by the marketplace platform
  • Review and rating data may be shared with us

Fulfillment Services

When using third-party fulfillment:

  • Amazon FBA: If we use Fulfillment by Amazon, your order data is processed by Amazon’s systems
  • Third-Party Warehouses: Shipping and fulfillment partners receive only information necessary for order processing
  • Drop Shipping: Some products may ship directly from manufacturers who receive limited customer information

Your Rights Across Platforms

  • Data Requests: You can request information about data we hold from any sales channel
  • Deletion Requests: We can delete data in our systems but cannot control marketplace platform data
  • Platform Controls: You must manage privacy settings directly with each marketplace
  • Unified Support: We’ll help coordinate privacy requests across all channels where possible

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

Universal Rights (All Users)

  • Access your personal information we hold
  • Correct inaccurate information
  • Request deletion of your information
  • Opt-out of marketing communications
  • Data portability in machine-readable format

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

  • Right to know what personal information we collect and how it’s used
  • Right to delete personal information (with certain exceptions)
  • Right to opt-out of sale of personal information (we don’t sell, but you have this right)
  • Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights
  • Right to limit use of sensitive personal information

European Residents (GDPR)

  • Legal basis for processing your information
  • Right to object to processing
  • Right to restrict processing
  • Right to data portability
  • Right to lodge a complaint with supervisory authorities

Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures:

  • Encryption in transit and at rest
  • Regular security audits and updates
  • Limited access on a need-to-know basis
  • Secure disposal of equipment and data
  • Incident response procedures

Data Retention

We retain your information only as long as necessary:

  • Active Projects: Duration of project plus 2 years for warranty support
  • Ecommerce Orders: 7 years for warranty, returns, and tax compliance
  • Contact Information: Until you request deletion or opt-out
  • Community Posts: Indefinitely to maintain discussion continuity (username may be anonymized upon request)
  • User Accounts: Until account deletion is requested plus 30 days for recovery
  • Financial Records: 7 years for tax and legal compliance
  • Website Analytics: 12 months maximum
  • User-Generated Content: Until you request removal or we determine it’s no longer relevant

Cookies and Tracking

Essential Cookies Only

We use only necessary cookies for:

  • Website security and functionality
  • Remembering your preferences and shopping cart
  • Processing service requests and orders
  • User authentication and session management

No Tracking Cookies

We do NOT use:

  • Advertising cookies
  • Social media tracking pixels
  • Cross-site tracking
  • Behavioral analytics cookies

Your Cookie Choices

You can:

  • Disable cookies in your browser settings
  • Use privacy-focused browsers like Firefox with strict tracking protection
  • Contact us to request cookie-free browsing options

Contact Us

For privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns:

Cloudless Smart Home LLC
Jeff Mapes, Owner
Email: [email protected]

Data Protection Requests:
To exercise your privacy rights or request information about our data practices, please contact us using the information above. We will respond within 30 days of verified requests.

Compliance Information

This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with:

  • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  • Other applicable state and federal privacy laws

Regulatory Inquiries:
For questions about our compliance with privacy regulations, please contact our privacy team at the address above.

This Privacy Policy reflects our commitment to protecting your privacy while providing the smart home and security solutions you need. We believe technology should empower you, not exploit you.