Next school year, my son will be left home after school for a few hours while my wife and I are at work. I’m looking for a way to detect when he’s home and have the front door unlock (among other automation scripts that are in place).

I came across this post and was going to get the Tile Pro as it seemed to check off all my requirements:

  • I could put it in his backpack where it can be forgotten.
  • long battery life.
  • Through the Home Assistant integration, it can trigger when it gets in range.
  • It also has a few other beneficial things, so I was thinking of putting one on each of our bicycles in case they’re ever stolen. Hell, I could look into putting one on my cat’s collar in case she ever gets out.

Then I came across some concerning articles regarding data harvesting. The whole reason I started self-hosting was to prevent data harvesting, so it seems like the Tile is a non-starter for me.

Has anyone been in this (or a similar) situation? Mainly, I’m looking for a device I can put in my son’s backpack that can trigger when he’s within range, so the house will open for him. BLE seems like it might be a solution, though I run my server on an old Dell r720 enterprise server in my basement, so I don’t currently have Bluetooth functionality (and it’s pretty far away from the front door, 20+ feet), though getting that is not a dealbreaker for me.

  • Addendum: To people saying just get a key: we have a key for him. I have a monolith sized server in my basement that automates most everything in my house these days, and was curious if anyone had set up something similar to what I was thinking. Home automation is very much a hobby, and I’m using it to learn new things.
  • downpunxx@fedia.io
    8·
    7 months ago

    stop overthinking stop over engineering stop trying to be too cute. this is your child. get them a phone.

    • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nlEnglish
      3·
      7 months ago

      Or, because studies have shown that in early and mid childhood development stages cell phones and tablets can actually stunt motor proficiancy and cause arrested social development, just give them a damn key.

      Much easier than every single other option. If they lose things, actually parent them and teach them to be responsible and different organizational methods and tie the key to something they always have.

          • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            7 months ago

            Various interests who profit from underfunding education who present phones as the boogeyman that made education bad. I don’t know, I’m just guessing.

            • JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nlEnglish
              1·
              7 months ago

              It’s funny because everyone arguing for phones and tablets for kids is like “hurt durr but their education”

              You know what the vast vast vast majority of kids use the phones and tablets for? Fucking sure as hell that it isn’t education.

              Addicting microtransaction games, social media, and the lowest trash YouTube channels.

              Pretty much every teacher in existence will tell you that phones for young kids have been hell and the kids can’t focus at all and have much more trouble learning.

              And every single person with any awareness at all will know that social media has been an absolute plague to kids social and mental health.

              Sure give a phone to your kid when they are 14, 15, 16. But when they are in primary school it is not needed and they are at the most risk for every bad aspect of phones.