Think setting up a smart home means handing over your data to Amazon or Google? Think again. In this episode, Chelsea Miller walks through the best smart home devices for beginners who actually care about privacy. You'll learn which protocols keep your automation local, which devices phone home with thousands of data packets every day, and how to build a system that works even when your internet doesn't. If you're tired of apps that demand accounts just to turn on a light, this one's for you.

• Zigbee and Z-Wave are protocols that let your devices talk to each other directly in your home, without sending anything to the internet. Think of them like walkie-talkies that only work in your house—they're private, fast, and keep working even if your Wi-Fi goes down.

• A local hub is a small computer in your home that contr ...