Editing Home automation (section)

== Criticism and controversies ==
Home automation suffers from [[platform fragmentation]] and lack of [[technical standard]]s<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mobileworldlive.com/mwc16-articles/iot-experts-fret-over-fragmentation/|title=IoT experts fret over fragmentation |date=2016-02-25|newspaper=Mobile World Live|language=en-US|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.qualcomm.com/news/onq/2016/02/19/fragmentation-enemy-internet-things|title=Fragmentation is the enemy of the Internet of Things |date=2016-02-19|newspaper=Qualcomm|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/semiconductors/our-insights/internet-of-things-opportunities-and-challenges-for-semiconductor-companies|title=Internet of Things: Opportunities and challenges for semiconductor companies|website=McKinsey & Company|access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arm.com/zh/files/event/ATF2015SZ_A6_Thundersoft.pdf |title=IOT Brings Fragmentation in Platform |access-date=2018-03-19 |archive-date=2016-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007092545/http://www.arm.com/zh/files/event/ATF2015SZ_A6_Thundersoft.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.w3.org/Talks/2016/04-27-countering-fragmentation.pdf |title=Countering Fragmentation with the Web of Things}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Steve Kovach |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/android-fragmentation-report-2013-7 |title=Android Fragmentation Report |website=Business Insider |date=July 30, 2013 |access-date=October 19, 2013}}</ref> a situation where the variety of home automation devices, in terms of both hardware variations and differences in the software running on them, makes the task of developing applications that work consistently between different inconsistent technology [[ecosystem]]s hard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linux.com/news/who-needs-internet-things|title=Who Needs the Internet of Things?|website=Linux.com |first=Eric |last=Brown |date=September 13, 2016 |access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref> Customers may hesitate to bet their IoT future on [[proprietary software]] or hardware devices that use [[proprietary protocol]]s that may fade or become difficult to customize and interconnect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linux.com/NEWS/21-OPEN-SOURCE-PROJECTS-IOT|title=21 Open Source Projects for IoT|website=Linux.com |date=20 September 2016 |access-date=2016-11-22}}</ref>

The nature of home automation devices can also be a problem for [[security]], [[data security]] and [[data privacy]], since patches to bugs found in the core operating system often do not reach users of older and lower-price devices.<ref name="Goodbye, Android">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/goodbye-android/|title=Goodbye, Android|website=Motherboard|publisher=Vice|last1=Franceschi-Bicchierai|first1=Lorenzo |date=July 29, 2015 |access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-android-toxic-hellstew-survival-guide/|title=The Android 'toxic hellstew' survival guide|website=ZDnet|last1=Kingsley-Hughes|first1=Adrian |date=June 9, 2014 |access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref> One set of researchers say that the failure of vendors to support older devices with patches and updates leaves more than 87% of active devices vulnerable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/android-security-a-market-for-lemons-that-leaves-87-percent-insecure/|title=Android security a 'market for lemons' that leaves 87 percent vulnerable|date=2015-10-13|website=[[ZDNet]]|first1=Liam|last1=Tung|access-date=2015-10-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~drt24/papers/spsm-scoring.pdf|last2=Beresford|first2=Alastair R.|publisher=[[Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge|Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge]]|doi=10.1145/2808117.2808118|last3=Rice|first3=Andrew|first1=Daniel R.|title=Proceedings of the 5th Annual ACM CCS Workshop on Security and Privacy in Smartphones and Mobile Devices - SPSM '15|pages=87–98|last1=Thomas|access-date=2015-10-14|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4503-3819-6|s2cid=14832327}}</ref>

Concerns have been raised by tenants renting from landlords who decide to upgrade units with smart home technology.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ng|first=Alfred|title=Your landlord turns your apartment into a smart home. Now what?|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/your-landlord-turns-your-apartment-into-a-smart-home-now-what/ |date=March 7, 2019 |access-date=2020-10-02|website=CNET|language=en}}</ref> These concerns include weak wireless connections that render the door or appliance unusable or impractical; the security of door passcodes kept by the landlord; and the potential invasion of privacy that comes with connecting smart home technologies to home networks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rehman |first1=Aqeel-ur |last2=Rehman |first2=Sadiq Ur |last3=Khan |first3=Iqbal Uddin |last4=Moiz |first4=Malaika |date=December 2016 |title=Security and Privacy Issues in IoT |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313574376 |journal=International Journal of Communication Networks and Information Security |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=147–157}}</ref>

Researchers have also conducted user studies to determine what the barriers are for consumers when integrating home automation devices or systems into their daily lifestyle. One of the main takeaways was regarding ease of use, as consumers tend to steer towards "plug and play" solutions over more complicated setups.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last1=Kaaz|first1=Kim J.|last2=Hoffer|first2=Alex|last3=Saeidi|first3=Mahsa|last4=Sarma|first4=Anita|last5=Bobba|first5=Rakesh B.|title=2017 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) |chapter=Understanding user perceptions of privacy, and configuration challenges in home automation |date=October 2017|chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8103482|location=Raleigh, NC|publisher=IEEE|pages=297–301|doi=10.1109/VLHCC.2017.8103482|isbn=978-1-5386-0443-4|s2cid=36313196 }}</ref> One study found that there were large gaps in the mental-models generated by users regarding how the devices actually work.<ref name=":2" /> Specifically, the findings showed that there was a lot of misunderstanding related to where the data collected by smart devices was stored and how it was used.<ref name=":2" /> For example, in a smart light setup, one participant thought that her iPad communicated directly with the light, telling it to either turn-off or on.<ref name=":2" /> In reality, the iPad sends a signal to the cloud system that the company uses (in this case, the Hue Bridge) which then signals directly to the device.<ref name=":2" />

Overall, this field is still evolving and the nature of each device is constantly changing. While technologists work to create more secure, streamlined, and standardized security protocols, consumers also need to learn more about how these devices work and what the implications of putting them in their homes can be. The growth of this field is currently limited not only by technology but also by a user's ability to trust a device and integrate it successfully into his/her daily life.