A blog post expressing anger over dishwashers having to connect to the cloud, titled 'IoT devices are local first, cloud second,' has gone viral



IoT , which allows electronic devices and switches to be controlled via the Internet, has many convenient features, such as being able to control them remotely using an app and viewing detailed usage data, but there are also negative aspects, such as security concerns about connecting essential home appliances to the Internet. Many people have concerns or a negative attitude toward IoT, and one post expressing anger at the fact that a newly purchased dishwasher was designed to require the Internet became a hot topic, garnering many likes.

I won't connect my dishwasher to your stupid cloud | Jeff Geerling
https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/i-wont-connect-my-dishwasher-your-stupid-cloud



Programmer Jeff Gehring posted on March 24, 2025, 'I bought a new Bosch dishwasher because my old one broke. When the Bosch arrived, it required a Wi-Fi connection and an app to set it up, which I definitely don't want to do.'




According to Gehring, after completing the installation, including the water supply and supply hoses and power cords, he tried to operate the touch panel to rinse the dish, but it did not work, and it was only when he looked at the instructions again that he realized he needed an app. The dishwasher that Gehring purchased was designed so that functions such as rinsing, self-cleaning, energy-saving functions used when washing small amounts of dishes, and timer settings could only be used from a dedicated app. Since the connection between the app and the dishwasher had to be via home Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth or a local network, Gehring said in a blog post, 'I understand that additional convenient functions are provided via the Internet. However, I cannot understand at all that functions that could be operated with buttons on the main unit on conventional dishwashers require an app on models that are more expensive than conventional models.'

Gehring cited three reasons for his opposition to making all home appliances IoT-enabled. First, he pointed out that product design, which leaves various functions to apps and has only a small display and a few buttons on the device itself, 'makes designers lazy.'

In addition, companies that offer cloud apps rather than having all functions built into the device themselves need to maintain cloud services, which incur costs. As a result, cloud services may become subscription-based, and there is even the possibility that customer data may be sold, leading to unfair treatment. 'The design of reducing the number of operating parts on the device and outsourcing functions to cloud apps seems like planned obsolescence, making it easier to stop functioning in 5 to 10 years,' said Gehring.



The third problem is the possibility of security holes in the local network. Bosch is a well-known manufacturer with a certain degree of reliability, but there are many IoT home appliances made by manufacturers that are not well known. If such home appliances are connected to the Internet, there is a growing concern that security holes could allow malicious third parties to control the home appliances.

In a blog post titled 'I won't connect my dishwasher to the stupid cloud,' Gehring proposed the principle 'First local, then cloud.' to IoT device developers. This is an argument that 'even if you use a cloud app to conveniently operate your home appliances, you should be able to perform the same operations without the app.' 'Anyone who is consumer-first and environmentally conscious would give us control first, and then add features that improve the quality of life through cloud services,' Gehring said.

Gehring's claim became a hot topic in X's replies and on the social site Hacker News . Like Gehring, there were users who bought a dishwasher after hearing that it was an additional function in the app, but were troubled after learning that it was an app after installation, and users who purchased an electric bicycle that works with the app had to close ads every time they started the app, and users who had problems sharing it with their family because it could only be used with the smartphone that was first registered. There were also many opinions that said, 'IoT is not necessarily convenient.' There were also many opinions that said, 'IoT convenience and privacy are a trade-off,' such as the point that Bosch's iOS app reads browser search history.

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in Hardware, Posted by log1e_dh