Apple’s HomeKit Is another ecosystem that doesn’t spy on you. It’s the main reason I picked it even though there are fewer, more expensive devices to choose from.

Helpful reminder that Apple still cooperates with the FBI [0]. They famously participated in PRISM and only pivoted to privacy-based marketing after this bad PR. It's also closed-source, so you have absolutely no idea that what you've said is true; they've certainly lied about it before.

[0] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-fbi-icloud-exclusiv...

For a small cost of being forever locked into Apple's DRM laden ecosystem and where each device needs to carry Apples proprietary authentication chip to make sure you don't accidentally actually own the device.

This is exact opposite for what WebThings stood for.

All the HomeKit devices I have also support other protocols in addition. You can also add third-party/custom devices using HomeBridge. The authentication chip hasn't been required for a few years now.

From HomeKit Accessory Protocol specification (https://developer.apple.com/fr/support/homekit-accessory-pro...): "a HomeKit accessory that will be distributed or sold must incorporate the Apple Authentication Coprocessor"

Do you know what the Authentication Coprocessor do?

At least those proprietary processor and proprietary protocol are the opposite of the WebThings approach to home automation.

This hasn't been the case since 2018 https://www.imore.com/how-homekits-software-authentication-w...

Given that is closed source you only have Apple's word on that, and I personally do not Trust Apple at all.

Further their hostility to open protocols, and open systems means I could never adopt them to run my home or IoT system

I have an extreme aversion to vendor lockin when it comes to IoT and I have no desire to tie myself of Apple

have you heard of HASS? https://www.home-assistant.io/

it seems like the perfect fit for you.

There's also OpenHAB https://www.openhab.org/

OpenHAB is still a bit user unfriendly from my experiences working with it. My existing stuff will talk to Google or Amazon's assistants, but getting OpenHAB to talk back and forth with those devices and Google/Alexa is proving to be a pain in the ass.

I like that cloud access is free, and Alexa integration works for me, although I prefer to keep my automation stuff relatively simple.

For me, I like the OpenHAB scripting, I personally found HomeAssistant to be too complicated to do some things because it was focused on being easy to use. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to get HomeAssistant to do what I wanted with my zwave smart locks, and it was much easier to do it on OpenHAB. So obviously, YMMV based on your preferences and requirements.

I see a lot of people using NodeRed also, which I guess is cool, but I found NodeRed incredibly frustrating compared to writing a script from scratch.

Hass translates to hate in german

This is probably part of why they stopped referring to it as "hass", although many who have been a part of the ecosystem (and probably don't speak German) continue to use the term.

i know, I'm German myself. It's just the acronym used for the service.