Philips Hue

Is Philips Hue safe?

Philips Hue is one of the safer smart-home apps you can install, as long as you keep the Hue Bridge updated. Lights paired to the Bridge work on your home network even without internet, Apple's label for the app shows no tracking, and Hue Secure cameras encrypt video end to end by default, something Ring and Blink leave off or do not offer. The weak spot is the Bridge, the small hub that talks to your bulbs. It has needed fixes for serious flaws twice, in 2020 and again in 2026. We score Philips Hue 67/100, just behind SmartThings at 68.

Hue is made by Signify, the former Philips Lighting business, based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

How secure is the Hue Bridge?

The Bridge is a small Linux computer on your network, and researchers keep finding ways into it.

In 2019 Check Point showed that an attacker within radio range could take over a single Hue bulb, make it behave oddly so the owner deleted and re-added it, and then use malformed Zigbee messages to run code on the Bridge and reach the home network beyond it (CVE-2020-6007). Signify confirmed the flaw the day it was reported, on 5 November 2019, and pushed a fix as an automatic firmware update on 13 January 2020. Check Point held back the details until August 2020 so owners had time to update.

2026 brought more. On 6 March the Zero Day Initiative published eight Bridge flaws, seven in its HomeKit service and one in its Zigbee stack, found for its Pwn2Own contest and reported to Signify in November 2025. Several let someone on the same network bypass the Bridge's login or run code without a password, rated up to 8.8 out of 10. ZDI lists the fix as Bridge v2 software 1975170000. In August a ninth flaw followed: the new Bridge Pro ran a message broker (MQTT) that anyone on the network could use without logging in to read data and control lights, fixed in version 1.77.2071318010.

All nine 2026 flaws need an attacker on your home network, and the 2020 one needed radio range, so none is as broad as a cloud breach. We found no breach of Hue accounts. But they show why automatic updates matter. Signify asks researchers to report bugs by encrypted email and credits them in a hall of fame. It does not pay bug bounties.

What does the Hue app collect?

Less than most smart-home apps. Apple's label shows no data used to track you. Purchases, location, contact info, identifiers and usage data are linked to you, for app functions, analytics, personalisation and Signify's own marketing.

The privacy notice, last updated in April 2023, says Signify does not sell or rent personal data. Location used for sunrise, sunset and coming-home automations stays on your phone and the Bridge, the notice says. When you link Alexa, Google or Siri, Signify receives usage and diagnostic data but not the audio. Third-party "Friends of Hue" services you connect get limited account details. Advertising cookies on Signify's websites are used for cross-context ads only after you consent.

The notice does not describe video from Hue Secure, the camera and alarm range. That is covered on a separate Secure privacy page.

Hue Secure cameras and the account change

Signify says Hue Secure cameras encrypt video, audio and snapshots end to end by default, with a key created when you activate the camera that only you hold, and that cloud clips are deleted after 30 or 60 days depending on your plan. Household members can be given access to lights only, with security footage kept to those you choose. Two-factorTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary login, by authenticator app or SMS, is supported but optional, and Signify warns you if your Hue password appears in another company's breach.

In September 2023 Hue's inventor, George Yianni, told The Verge, as reported by Hueblog, that a Hue account would become mandatory. Until then, anyone who could press the button on a Bridge got full control of the system, which he called "inadequate going forward". He said lights would keep working locally without internet, and that consent to usage data would be split from account creation first. In a Hueblog reader poll, more than 60% said they would rather use Hue without an account. We could not confirm when the requirement took effect for every Bridge.

How to use Philips Hue safely

1. Turn on automatic software updates in the Hue app's settings so Bridge fixes install without you.
2. Turn on two-factorTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary login with an authenticator app, especially if you use Hue Secure cameras.
3. Give guests and children light-only permissions, not security access.
4. Use blackout zones on cameras that can see a neighbour's window or a bedroom door.
5. Factory-reset the Bridge, bulbs and cameras before you sell or give them away, as Signify's notice advises.

How we scored it

The regulatory record (86) is Hue's strongest factor, with no fine or order, and content risk (82) is low because it is mostly a lighting app with no public feed. Security (60) is its weakest: end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary cameras and breached-password alerts help, but the Bridge has had serious network flaws in 2020 and 2026, two-factorTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary login is optional and there is no bug bounty. Privacy (62) reflects a short App Store label with no tracking and a no-sale policy, offset by usage data linked to you for marketing.