SmartThings Community

Feature Request - Multiple User Accounts

(Barry Murphy) #33

I have just recently installed another security system for the office and given other owners of the business access; problem is there is no way to only invite them into the Hub / Work location; they can all access my liquor cabinet at home now! :smile:
Is there any plans for user access to specific locations or Hubs?

Many thanks

(Chris) #34

+1000

This is an indispensable feature for kids, girlfriends, etc. that you don’t want to have the keys to the castle, but presence and control over some devices. Obviously this is a big undertaking to create truly granular ACLs, but even basic support would be a big step forward.

(Bruce) #35

You and @icepicknz really should check out Smarttiles (http://www.smarttiles.click). This gives you an easy way to give users access without giving them the keys to the castle.

(Chris) #36

What do you do for presence @bravenel? Life360?

(Bruce) #37

Personally, I just use iPhones and SmartPresence fobs (for humans and cars, respectively); but that question is orthogonal to the Feature Request of Multiple User Accounts and my suggestion of SmartTiles.

I miss the point of your question?

(Chris) #38

If I have no admin users using SmartTiles, they can’t use the their iPhone for presence, without another solution i.e. Life360… Or can SmartTiles do presence?

(Chris) #39

Looks like this stopped working in the new app update. Anyone know when multiple user accounts will return?

Can't create multiple user accounts
(Jason Simpson) #40

I’m getting the same issue and don’t know why this feature is not working when it did with the old app and hub.

Screenshot_2015-09-28-20-31-46.png1080×1920 62.6 KB

(scooter133) #41

Same Message on the iPhone App.

#42

Agreed. Please fix… I need to be able to set presence for my family via their phones.

Thanks!

(Pradeep) #43

I think this would help in building the features

(Kevin M.) #44

Would also love this for when the parents come visit or the few close friends.

(Matt) #45

Add Me to the List . I would love to see this feature. I am just getting started with SmartThings and having a lot of fun with it. But i have already ran into this issue a few times with my family. Thanks

(Keith) #46

Me too… would still like to see options for notifications to go to specific users.

(Jordan P.) #47

I wish there was either individual permissions for each user or at least a separate ST app which I can install on family members cell phones and it will only act as a presence sensor.

#48

I just got into smartthings. The one thing I want to see coming and going is my wayward teenager. Unfortunately If I add his smart phone as a presence monitor he would have control over the whole system? I think we really need permissions and user control… That way he could do things like turn on lights etc, but not have ability to turn off system. why is this technology so close yet so far off…

#49

That would indeed be helpful. :sunglasses:

Meanwhile, there are several popular options for this kind of situation. It also comes up with housemates, Airbnb guests, and, of course, teenagers.

  1. use life 360 instead of the SmartThings mobile app on the secondary user’s phone. This is a free service, works well, and has an official integration.

  1. An alternative to Life360 is the IFTTT free presence. SmartThings has an IFT TT channel, so it can be combined with this as long as you set up a virtual present sensor. So this has a little more set up work than life 360 but some people like it, especially for housemate, because it doesn’t let you actually track the other person through the day, you just know when they’ve arrived home.

  2. use the third-party app SmartTiles, very popular, which lets you customize exactly which devices will appear on its dashboard and limits their use, so they can’t be deleted by the secondary user. This doesn’t give you presence, but you can combine it with life 360, IFTTT presence, or the arrival sensor.

The primary designer’s original interest was to give his kids the ability to turn the lights on and off in their own bedroom without the ability to turn them off in the sibling’s bedroom next door! :wink: But it’s grown over time and now has many different features. It will run in just about any web browser, so could be used on any kind of phone or tablet.

www.smarttiles.click

  1. another option is a $30 SmartThings arrival sensor, sold at the shop link on the site. This is a keychain fob which does nothing except indicate home or away. Is popular for little kids, dog walkers, etc. people who don’t necessarily have to have any device control over the house. It can be subject to Wi-Fi interference, though, so it works great for some people and not so great for others. You may just have to try it and see.

So you may need to solve the two parts of the problem separately: getting an arrival indication for the person and giving the person limited access to device control on your SmartThings account. But it can be done. :sunglasses:

#50

Thank you for the wonderful reply, great info! I did start messing with smarttiles. Still waiting on my garage door sensor/switch and some other stuff before I really get into the presence stuff.

I am just amazed what the community comes up with!

(Shawn H) #51

Very important to provide user access by hub or location. Ideally allow presence with a user phone that does not have full access to ST. A few use cases:

  • Housekeeper / friend phone can register presence.
  • Family member requires unique alerts / access.
  • Manage location for parent or other location.

I realize there are dashboards and other controls but this is important.
Ideally, use the household mac address on wifi (or BT address) for presence without requiring app install.

#52

Adding myself to the request here. For me this is top of the list, it’s not just about selling the location device, there’s much more to this feature than that. First, when it comes to security, the location device is not reliable for my daughter, she might forget it easily, she won’t forget her phone. For user accounts we need more options all around. I want to be notified on things that my wife or daughter do not and I want push notifications not emails.

So, I’d like notification options for each user, from the system control, so I can manage it instead of making them manage it and miss something. Also I’d like to be able to, at times, allow my daughter to interact with the app, at times turn things off and on, see who’s at the door, be notified of sensors. This is a security issue. At other times she doesn’t need to be. If I add her the way you have it now, she’ll turn off notifications from her phone, why not she doesn’t want to be bothered by the notifications I see, and then she’ll miss them when she needs to see them - again this is a security issue.

For me, this is the top of the list, the system doesn’t meet my minimum requirements for security.