For me it's using an open source NVR and compatible cameras. No cloud. Files SFTP transfered off-site to dedicated servers.

I have window breakage detectors, motion detectors, and cameras inside covering the external doors and windows. I originally installed them specifically because some sketchy neighbors moved in, and it paid off when they kicked in my front door to burglarize my place. The klaxon cut the looting short, and the video put the cops on the right track.

The struggle I had initially is that I went through a few off-the-shelf solutions, and they were all pretty awful. Some because they didn't work reliably, others because of privacy concerns. I gave up on commercial solutions and just put together a system on my own. It's reliable and doesn't phone home to some company somewhere.

> do you care about the privacy/control of your home security solution

This is the most important thing to me, since these devices generate a lot of incredibly sensitive data. If I can't be sure that data is secure enough (meaning that it never leaves my custody and control), then the system is unacceptable.

  - OSS Frigate NVR + hardware NPU/AI accelerator
  - Zigbee or wired motion sensors?
  - Reolink PoE cameras
  - x86 mini PC or Arm SBC?