Home Assistant will rename its optional connection service Link
Nabu Casa plans to rename Home Assistant Cloud as Home Assistant Link in the December release. Home Assistant continues to run locally, with the subscription offering optional remote access, voice-service connections and encrypted backups. The planned rename accompanies account and setup changes. Nabu Casa says subscription proceeds help sustain development through the Open Home Foundation.
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The Link name is planned for December
Nabu Casa, the company operating Home Assistant’s optional online connection service, plans to rename Home Assistant Cloud as Home Assistant Link. The change was announced on 2 October and is intended to become official in the December 2026.12 release. Community members are being asked for feedback before then. Home Assistant, the open-source platform for controlling smart-home devices, runs on hardware inside the home. The subscription service connects that local system with functions used over the internet. Founder Paulus Schoutsen described the naming change as part of efforts to make the platform easier for more people to use.[1], [2]
Local control continues alongside optional remote services
Home Assistant works locally without a Nabu Casa subscription. Link’s optional functions include reaching the system from outside the home, connections to Alexa and Google Home, speech recognition, encrypted online backups and human support. Users can also set up alternatives for these services. Nabu Casa says its encryption keeps the keys with the user and prevents the company and the Open Home Foundation from seeing the data. These are the provider’s descriptions of the connection service. Local operation continues when a user stops subscribing, while the additional functions supplied through that subscription are removed.[1]
Account and setup changes accompany the rename
A redesigned account page and a guided setup process accompany the planned rename. Nabu Casa is also testing speech-to-text features and describes moving its remote-access infrastructure to nearby physical servers to improve responsiveness. Some functions are being offered experimentally.[1]
The company was founded in 2018 to make Home Assistant development sustainable, building an optional service that could support the project financially. Nabu Casa says most subscription profits now help fund the Open Home Foundation, which supports the platform’s staff and volunteers. The development funding continues alongside the service’s account management and connection work. The account changes include tools for account management and a setup wizard inside Home Assistant. The provider is also working on security features alongside the infrastructure update that changes how remote connections reach its servers.[1]
