I baulked at installing the 'Homewhiz' Android app for my Beko washer/dryer because not only did it want access to my mic and camera, but also GPS and contacts.

I baulked at installing the 'Homewhiz' Android app for my Beko washer/dryer because not only did it want access to my mic and camera, but also GPS and contacts. Instead, I installed a smart plug with power sensor and hooked it up to a phone dashboard via MQTT and Node-RED so I can work out the current state of the machine (by power draw), and as a fun bonus I get an email at the start and end of each wash/dry cycle. That's good enough for me - I can't see the point of being able to set the wash program by phone as I have to be physically at the machine when loading it. If I could use an official app to see machine anomalies or predicted failures without the feeling that I am being bugged or data mined that would be handy. Allegedly, the Homewhiz protocol is 'Open', but references lead to ISO/IEC 30118-4:2021, which is a multi-document spec for which you have to pay. I also would not be surprised if the appliance's Bluetooth connectivity won't play nice unless there's an outbound 'heartbeat' to a remote server via the phone.