Smart Homes, Safe Homes: Trust in Consumer IoT

A smart home is only as good as the trust it earns. Smart Homes, Safe Homes: Trust in Consumer IoT examines why convenience alone is not enough—and how privacy, reliability, and security determine whether connected homes are truly livable.
This book looks at consumer IoT from the user’s point of view. It explores how everyday devices—locks, cameras, speakers, appliances, and sensors—reshape domestic life, often quietly collecting data and making decisions on behalf of occupants. The focus is not on features, but on confidence: do users understand, control, and trust the systems they live with?
Rather than promoting gadgets, the book asks harder questions about data ownership, consent, updates, and long-term safety. It shows how poor design choices erode trust, and how thoughtful design builds homes that feel supportive instead of intrusive.
You will explore:
• Why trust is the foundation of consumer IoT adoption
• How privacy failures undermine smart home value
• How reliability matters more than automation tricks
• How security decisions affect daily life
• Why safe homes are designed, not marketed
This book is for designers, product teams, policymakers, and consumers who care about living with technology, not under it. If smart homes are meant to serve people, this book explains how trust makes that possible.