I struggled for years trying to find a way to set up door cameras that were secure enough that I can check in remotely. Around 2015, I finally had a solution.
I ended up spending a couple hundred dollars on a wired camera Setup from 2000s that streams to a old desktop. Then spend a couple hundred dollars on a network and software that I can dial in to view the desktop remotely. I also bought a VPN to dial in. Probably about $2k, which is chump change compared to corporation setups.
After three years and constant maintenance at roughly 10 hours a week, I gave up.
Then around 2020, i bought a Eufycam and setup, plugged it in and was up and running without any maintenance for like $200. They got a major security leak a year or two ago. Kinda sucked.
But damn, the tradeoff is so painful. Either strong secure network that costs a lot (time and money), or a insecure off-the-shelf solution that just works.
All this for the convenience of being able to see the mailman walk up to my door.
Home Assistant can be used as an AIO for smart home devices. I assume OP is referring specifically to home assistant integrations that are privacy friendly such as Z-Wave and ZigBee devices that only communicate to each other locally over radio instead of over the internet to someone else’s PC.
