Google Home Hub is a camera-free (yay!) smart home control center

We all know this classic problem. Technology gets more and more capable and convenient every day, but with that convenience comes a risk to your privacy. Sure, you’d like to get a smart home set up in your house, but you don’t need hackers, corporations, or The Man listening in on your private conversations, or peeping in on you from your own private camera system. While I personally subscribe to the philosophy of “if you’ve got it, flaunt it,” for the rest of you, there is now hope.

Google has unveiled the new Google Home Hub, a device that acts as a brain for all the other “smart” electronics on your property. Whether it’s lights, thermostats, locks or even (if you must) security cameras, your smart tech will need a hub to be the go-between for all this technology.

Warning: before you watch this video, know that he says “Hey Google” several times and will set off all of your Google devices. You’ve been warned.

While other similar devices exist on the market (such as the Amazon Echo Show) what sets the Home Hub apart is the fact that no camera exists on the device. If you decide to disable the microphone as well, then suddenly you have a smart home that absolutely, positively, under no conditions can ever see you naked.

This decision was deliberate on Google’s part. With many holdouts still desiring security over comfort, Google’s not including video cameras in their Home Hub could mean deeper market penetration for a more wary customer base.

There are other considerations to take as well. The lack of camera means the device is cheaper to produce and sell. The Google Home Hub will retail at $149, about $80 cheaper than their closest competitor, the Amazon Echo Show. On the downside, no camera means that video calls through the device are not possible (though nearly any smart phone can do this for free, so it’s not really much of a downside).

Aside from the lack of camera, the Google Home Hub functions similarly to the Amazon Echo Show (that is, as a very specialized tablet you stand up in a corner and don’t move around too much). It connects to not only all your smart tech but also all your Google accounts.

You can check your mail, access photo collections, play music, look up directions, or even watch youtube videos. About they only thing they don’t seem to be able to do is interact with Amazon products, meaning those of us with a collection of Amazon Echo Dots around the house will need to wait a bit before wading into these new, secure, camera-less waters.