It started as a small project, but growing IoT security concerns turned it into something much bigger. Here’s the story and how you can help.

It all started as a weekend project, a classic case of a developer scratching their own itch. I have a mix of smart home gadgets, and I was just trying to build a simple way to make them all talk to each other—the new Matter-enabled devices and the older, non-Matter ones. But as I dug deeper, I realized the real problem wasn’t just about interoperability. It was about the massive IoT security concerns that came with a connected home.

I went down a rabbit hole, and what I found was pretty unsettling. We invite these devices into our homes for convenience, but we often don’t know what they’re doing in the background. Many gadgets, especially cheaper Wi-Fi-enabled ones, have questionable security practices. They phone home to unknown servers, share data in ways we can’t control, and can create vulnerabilities in our home networks. What started as a project to connect things quickly became a mission to protect them.

The Deeper Problem: Unpacking IoT Security Concerns

Let’s be honest, most of us don’t read the terms of service. We plug in a new smart speaker or lightbulb and just hope for the best. But this “plug and pray” approach is becoming riskier. The convenience of a smart home shouldn’t come at the cost of your personal privacy.

The core issue is that our data is often the product. Device manufacturers may collect usage data to improve their services, which sounds fine on the surface. But without strong regulations and transparency, it’s a black box. Where does that data go? Who has access to it? These are the IoT security concerns that kept me up at night and pivoted my entire project. According to security experts, many common IoT devices can be shockingly easy to compromise, turning a helpful gadget into a security liability. For a deeper dive into this, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has some great resources on the privacy implications of the smart devices we use every day.

Can the Matter Protocol Solve Everything?

You might be thinking, “But what about Matter?” And that’s a great point. The Matter protocol, backed by major players like Apple, Google, and Amazon, is a huge step in the right direction. It aims to create a unified, secure standard for how devices communicate with each other on a local level. It’s fantastic for reliability and simplifying setup.

However, Matter primarily addresses device-to-device communication. It doesn’t fully solve the problem of how your data is handled at the orchestration level—the apps and cloud services that manage your smart home. You still need a trustworthy platform to manage all your devices, set rules, and, most importantly, control your data. My project evolved to focus on this exact layer: a central hub built from the ground up with privacy at its core.

A New Approach to Managing IoT Security Concerns

After about 18 months of work, what began as a side project is now gearing up for a pilot launch. The goal is to create an IoT management platform that puts you, the user, back in control. The core idea is to manage all your devices—Matter and non-Matter—while prioritizing your privacy.

This means features like:

• Data Isolation: Preventing devices from communicating with external servers without your permission.
• Clear Dashboards: Showing you exactly what each device is doing and what data it’s accessing.
• User-Centric Control: Giving you simple, powerful tools to manage your home’s data flow.

It’s not about just adding another app to your phone. It’s about building a foundation of trust for your smart home, so you can enjoy the convenience without the constant worry.

Help Build the Future of Smart Home Privacy

This is where you come in. I’m now at a stage where I need feedback from people who are passionate about this space. I’m looking for a small group of enthusiasts to participate in building this out. This isn’t just about getting early access; it’s about having a real say in the project’s direction through suggestions, early testing, and voting on new features.

So, I have a question for you. As someone interested in smart homes and privacy, what would make you want to join a project like this? What kind of sign-up offer would grab your attention? What features would be most useful to you on day one?

I started this journey because I was a concerned user, and I want to build it with other concerned users. Let’s figure out how to solve this problem together.

Posted on August 5, 2025