CorrectAlias

The best I can do is give tariff refunds to companies and fuck over the lower class.

I agree when it comes to most “smart” home devices. However, I wired an ESP32 to my heat pump for remote control and automation, which has been absolutely fantastic. Also, I use a ton of ZigBee and zwave, since those are not “smart” by themselves and are local-only.

It’s the cloud bullshit that always breaks and spies on users that I hate.

pulls information from smartphone apps in order to let state investigators identify the location of mobile devices.

They aren’t using cell tower data, if that’s what you mean. I’m guessing that unless you degoogle, your first suggestion won’t do too much.