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Comment by Fezzik | Hacker News Reader

It really is a pox of a product. I’m in the process of buying a house and any listings with Nest products I just skip. I know it is negligible, financially and physically, to remove them, but why even bother when there are plenty of options that don’t come pre-equipped with dysfunctional spyware.

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> I’m in the process of buying a house and any listings with Nest products I just skip.

That is incredibly foolish. You're cutting off your nose to spite your face. A thermostat can be replaced for under $100.

Instead you choose to miss out on options that might be desirable. You're not teaching anyone a lesson here.

This sounds exactly like something RMS would say.

Be pragmatic.

But he's no idea how deeply integrated it is?

It's a thermostat! They don't sink tentacles into the walls to leave behind invisible internet-enabled slime. You can replace a thermostat.

I think I acknowledged the ease of removal, but in the market I am in - moving back home to Portland, Ore. - most of the homes that have Nest products have multiple Nest thermostats, Nest locks, and Nest smoke detectors. As the article alludes to, it is a product line that contractors were going all-in on for quite a while. There are an abundance of wonderful homes that do not have these gadgets, so using one data point to limit my search can be helpful. I am looking at a lot of homes while working full-time in a different city. Sure, I may miss the perfect house, but I doubt it.

I don’t know why this is being downvoted so much, but the comment is correct if slightly badly worded. Looking for property that will be off-putting to other potential buyers is usually the way to get a good deal as long as you sweat over the big details (Mold/damp, subsidency, problems with location, etc...)

Even replacing a heating systems at a cost of $10,000 could be offset by getting a good deal on a property.

Fitting user name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON.

What happens with Nest if your Google account gets locked out for any reason? You can no longer heat your home?

If you can get a pay as you go Sim card it may be worth it to register a new Google account just for nest.

Separate nest from your personal Google account. That's if nest is worth that effort.

They absolutely will know it’s you straight away... their algorithms will instantly match the address with the location data they slurp from your phone, if nothing else.

Sharing an address isn't uncommon. I don't think there's a big risk that a Google account would be locked because another account at the same address had been.

This is not a confidence inspiring answer.

It is not worth the risk.

They ban other accounts based on IP, so this would not be a stretch.

Because not more than one person can live in a house?

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