I found my Homey app listed on LG ThinQ PLAY without any prior notice

Developers
58

Here’s another reason why I absolutely do not want my apps running on LG devices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IFVTcM28KA

TL;DW: LG collects user data through their TV’s, including making voice recordings while the TV is supposedly off, and scanning your network, and sells this information as part of their “LG Ad Solutions”. As said before, this has become LG’s business model, and it’s naive to think that this will not trickle down to other devices, like their own ThinQ ON hub.

I simply do not want to be a part of this.

@Doekse @meerlol I’ve asked before: where did I agree to my apps being distributed to LG devices?

68

This, on top of the price of the Portal will ensure that Homey users leave in their hordes to HA and they won’t come back.

They warned us and they were absolutely right.

Gamers Nexus is a hero

69

Hello everyone,

On September 3 (KST), I received a response from Homey Customer Support. They explained that the matter was outside the scope of what they could assist with and provided me with Herman Meerlo’s work email address so that I could contact him directly.

Herman and I have since exchanged several emails. I hope you understand that I cannot share the correspondence at this time, as it may contain private communications.

Once I have received answers regarding all the outstanding matters and consider the issue resolved, I hope to ask for permission to share the relevant parts of the correspondence with the community.

70

Definitely not, I hate subscriptions (especially overpriced ones like Nabu Casa of €7,50 per month). Also, many devices are supported by Homey but not by Home Assistant. I’m sure that at least 5 brands that I use in Homey don’t work in Home Assistant. It also doesn’t work well with client isolation enabled on the network, since Home Assistant can reach most devices only via LAN (which would be inaccessible with Client Isolation).

Homey is the best smart home platform by far!

72

This is misleading, Nabu Casa subscription is not for access to Home Assistant, it’s for additional services that work with HA. If the behavior of LG isn’t a clear enough sign that you are always better off with an open-source solution than I don’t know what to say. And of course HA can function with client isolation, I have used this for many years.

Which devices are you missing support for? I am curious, as there’s a seeming endless list of supported devices and protocols.

73

Don’t feed the trolls.

74

Osaio, Nordlux, HomeWizard Link are missing. Kasa, Tapo and WiZ only work without client isolation as they need LAN access, which isn’t an option considering that many devices on my network are insecure (and some might also contain backdoors, so I just don’t want them to be able to reach other devices on the network). For me, Google Home is a primary control method that I can’t live without. So that’s basically a requirement (at least for me)

75

Hello @deejayreissue, @smarthomesven,

Can you guys please stop starting offtopic discussions and derailling close to every topic you participate in! This is really getting annoying and doesn’t help anyone!

Thanks!

76

to be fair, I haven’t engaged with him here, I made a completely separate comment about the actual topic, but certainly noted for future

77

I also came across my apps —such as sysInternals— on the LG ThinQ ON.
Although I spotted them there some time ago, I’ve likely “forgotten” whether I ever gave permission for my apps to be distributed on that platform.
Moreover, I didn’t see any option to test or modify the app for it.

What bothers me most is that crash- and Diagnostic reports (which I sometimes still receive from other Homeys) are filtered out and the button to send Diagnostic reports is hidden in the LG ThinQ ON user interface.
It gives the impression that they deliberately tucked them away and filter them out.

Or are there other developers who do see reports from LG devices?
I have only seen reports in the first couple of weeks from “Homey version xx.xx.x**-lg.**xx”

And that while LG or "@All_Connect_Zigbee " on behalf or LG is placing an App “Hidden” in the store only available for the ThinQ ON!

78

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a follow-up to my earlier posts about finding my Google Cloud Text-to-Speech app available through ThinQ PLAY for use on ThinQ ON.

After discussing the matter with Athom and contacting LG directly, the situation for my app is now clearer.

Current status

  • My app is no longer listed in ThinQ PLAY following my request to LG.
  • It remains available in the Homey App Store.
  • The ThinQ PLAY exclusion does not remove existing installations. Those installations can continue running and receiving updates while the app remains published.
  • Athom confirmed that I retain ownership of my app and its source code.

One correction to the earlier account of events: LG had already acted on my direct request before Athom’s separate request reached them. The exclusion was therefore applied in response to my request to LG.

What remains unresolved

I am still waiting for clarification on how Article 13.3 of Athom’s Terms of Use applies to app packages and their distribution for use on third-party hardware, including the scope and duration of the relevant rights.

There are also questions that I need to take up with LG, particularly whether my app’s catalogue record has been deleted or only hidden, how long the data is retained, and whether the exclusion will remain in place after future app updates.

Athom has said it does not intend to ask LG to reverse the exclusion without a further request from me. That is helpful, but it is not a guarantee on LG’s behalf.

My practical concern as a developer

I own a ThinQ ON, so I can test my app on the device myself. My concern is for other community developers who do not have access to one.

During our correspondence, I was told that ThinQ ON did not support generating Homey app diagnostic reports. For developers without the hardware, that could leave them unable to reproduce a reported issue or obtain the diagnostic information needed to investigate it.

Users may reasonably expect support for an app they find through ThinQ PLAY, while its developer may never have tested it on ThinQ ON.

I would welcome clearer developer documentation, better diagnostic access, and a way for developers without the device to have platform-specific issues reproduced. Clear information for users about which hardware a community app has actually been tested on would also help.

Why I am sharing this

I appreciate the time Athom has taken to answer my questions and correct the sequence of events. Several points have been clarified, although some questions remain open.

This post is a summary of my own experience and the status communicated to me, not an official explanation of Athom’s policies or its arrangement with LG. I am not alleging that any law or agreement has been breached.

If other community developers have experience testing or supporting their apps on ThinQ ON, I would be interested in hearing how they handle it.