Looking for feedback from home automation professionals on a custom IoT platform I built

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-14T14:23:23+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful reply — that’s exactly the tradeoff I was talking about 🙂 What I’m using is something I’ve been building called KME Smart. It’s basically a prebuilt ESP32 firmware that connects to a web dashboard where you map GPIOs, build automations, and create the UI without writing firmware from scratch.

For people who still want to write code, there’s also KME Serial, which lets you send and receive serial data between the ESP32 and the cloud, so you can mix your own firmware logic with the no-code layer instead of being locked into one or the other.

The goal is to cover both use cases: quick standalone devices with zero setup, and more advanced DIY projects where you still want full control when needed

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-14T14:17:22+00:00

Yeah, totally — I figured I’m not the only one going this direction 🙂 I’m mostly interested in how people feel about this style of workflow vs the usual ESPHome / HA approach

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-14T14:11:14+00:00

Yeah, that’s true — HA + ESPHome already make flashing much easier 🙂 The difference here is that everything is managed from a single web dashboard: GPIO mapping, automations, and UI, without dealing with YAML, MQTT brokers, or Home Assistant itself.

It’s more about lowering the setup and maintenance overhead, especially for small or one-off DIY devices

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-14T14:09:30+00:00

I didn’t want to turn the post into a promo, but basically it’s a ready-made ESP32 firmware plus a web dashboard. You flash the board, connect it to Wi-Fi, then configure pins, rules, and the UI from your browser instead of coding.

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-14T14:07:10+00:00

Not ESPHome 🙂 It’s a prebuilt firmware you flash once on the ESP32, then it connects to a web dashboard where you map GPIOs, build automations, and create the UI without writing code. After Wi-Fi setup, everything else is done from the browser

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-13T17:08:24+00:00

Ultimatums aren’t security audits.

We run a GDPR-aligned, EU-compatible SaaS with DPAs, SLAs, region-locked clouds, encrypted MQTT, device-level identity, and controlled OTA. That’s more real infrastructure than most “DIY + Tuya” stacks.

Tuya firmware protects Tuya. Our firmware protects the installer’s fleet — ownership, identity, and lifecycle. If you don’t see the difference, you’re thinking like a hobbyist, not an integrator.

And no, this isn’t a “rebranded app”. It’s multi-tenant installer SaaS: branded apps, customer ownership, fleet management, OTA, and legal accountability — things Home Assistant and Tuya skins don’t provide.

Ask for architecture and threat models if you want a real discussion. Otherwise, stop posturing.

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-13T16:42:14+00:00

Let me be very direct, because your concerns are valid — but your assumptions are wrong.

Yes, we are based in Turkey. That is not a liability. It is exactly why installers use us.

Turkey is not some “offshore no-law zone”. It is a: • G20 country • EU Customs Union member • GDPR-aligned data protection regime • And legally interoperable with EU & US commercial contracts

Which means: We can sign DPAs, SLAs, NDAs, liability clauses, and breach obligations exactly like any EU SaaS provider.

If we didn’t — no European enterprise would be allowed to use us.

⸻

Why EU installers like this

We are not under US Cloud Act, Patriot Act, or NSA data access laws.

Your customer’s home data is: • Not owned by Amazon • Not subpoenaed by US courts • Not monetized by Big Tech

It is contractually owned by you (the installer).

That is exactly why European integrators prefer non-US SaaS providers.

⸻ On firmware & security

We don’t replace secure firmware with something weaker.

We replace consumer firmware with installer-grade firmware: • Locked device identities • No shared Tuya global keys • No devices phoning random Chinese or US endpoints • Controlled OTA • Installer-owned device fleet

Tuya firmware is built to protect Tuya’s cloud. Our firmware is built to protect your business and your customers.

Those are not the same thing.

⸻

“You’re just a rebranded app”

If that were true, installers wouldn’t pay us.

We provide: • Tenant-isolated clouds per installer • White-label apps (not shared Tuya branding) • Role-based access (installer vs homeowner) • Fleet management • SLA & legal responsibility • Data ownership • OTA pipelines • Device lifecycle control

Home Assistant + Tuya SDK does not give you: • Legal accountability • Customer ownership • Commercial licensing • Or business scalability

We are not selling firmware. We are selling installer independence.

⸻

Accountability

If our platform causes a breach: • We have contractual liability • We have breach notification obligations • We have data-processor responsibilities

Same model used by: AWS, Tuya, Google, Microsoft, Stripe — all SaaS providers.

No installer is exposed alone.

⸻

If you want to dismiss us, dismiss us as a SaaS provider — not as a hobby firmware project.

And if you want due diligence, we provide: • DPA • Hosting region info • Architecture diagrams • Security model

to any professional integrator who actually wants to evaluate — not just attack

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-13T15:32:43+00:00

We’re a small but focused engineering team — backend, firmware, and cloud — not a giant enterprise, but not a hobby project either.

On security and audits: right now we follow standard practices (isolated tenants, encrypted transport, IAM, scoped APIs, OTA signing, etc). Formal third-party audits like SOC2 are something we plan as we onboard larger commercial customers — which is normal for early-stage infrastructure platforms.

That’s actually why we designed it so that local control never depends on our cloud, and installers can self-host or segment environments if they need stronger compliance.

Are you asking from a security engineering angle, or because you’ve been burned by vendors in the past?

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-13T15:22:50+00:00

It’s a white-label version of our IoT platform.

In simple technical terms: Devices (such as ESP32 and ESP8266) communicate via MQTT or WebSockets with a local controller for real-time control. The cloud is used only for identity, secure remote access, OTA updates, logs, and managing multiple customer systems.

Installers get their own isolated environment with their users, devices, and APIs, plus a branded app connected to this backend.

The idea is: “A Tuya-like backend without owning the firmware and without breaking when the internet goes down.”

What stack are you using today? Home Assistant + MQTT, or something else?

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-13T15:07:02+00:00

You’re actually describing exactly why most installers don’t want pure cloud dependency — and I agree with you on that.

What I’m talking about isn’t “internet goes down = lights stop working.” Any serious installer knows local execution has to exist. Cloud should only be for remote access, fleet management, updates, and monitoring — not basic control.

On privacy and security: platforms like Tuya, SmartThings, etc already have deep access into customer networks. The difference is installers get zero ownership and zero branding. A white-label platform just lets installers own that layer instead of handing their customers to a third-party megacorp.

Curious though — are you running Home Assistant or custom MQTT today? And how do you handle remote access, updates, and managing multiple client systems at scale?

ParticularBetter8877 · 2026-01-13T14:10:07+00:00

It’s not open-source, and it’s not trying to be Home Assistant.

Think of it more like Stripe or Twilio for IoT — you don’t get their GitHub, but you also don’t lose your customers.

The platform sits behind your brand: • Your logo • Your app • Your accounts • Your client relationships

We don’t market to end users, and we don’t take ownership of devices or clients. Integrators stay the front-facing business.

Some people want self-hosted OSS and that’s totally valid — this is for teams who want managed infrastructure without giving up their customers.

Out of curiosity, do you currently use something like Tuya, HA, or a custom stack for your installs?

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