They don't. You can use Aqara-branded zigbee devices just fine with Home Assistant (open source), no propietary cloud services required. With most manufacturer'

They don't. You can use Aqara-branded zigbee devices just fine with Home Assistant (open source), no propietary cloud services required. With most manufacturer's own hubs it's a whole different story, basically they all talk to their cloud, that's how they are designed. I can see why, that's the easiest option for average consumer, plug & play. https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/xiaomi_aqara/ https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/xiaomi_aqara/