The Google Home API has been opened to developers that want to use the smart home devices and automations in apps. “Building on the foundation of Matter, we’ve re-envisioned Google Home as a platform for developers — all developers, not just those that build smart home devices,” the company announced at Google I/O. The new APIs provide access to over 600 million devices with a single integration and create the possibility for Google TVs to serve as smart home hubs. Google’s established partners have access to the Home APIs, and the company is now waitlisting other interested developers. Among the first partners are ADT and Eve.

ADT, in which Google is an investor, is using the Home API to launch a “Trusted Neighbor feature that leverages Google smart home products to let customers ‘grant secure and temporary access to their homes for neighbors, friends or helpers,’” The Verge reports, adding that “smart home device maker Eve is using the APIs to bring its app to Android for the first time ‘and build helpful automations like lowering the blinds when the temperature drops at night.’”

“The first apps using the home APIs will be able to publish to the Play and App stores in the fall,” Google’s Anish Kattukaran, head of product at Google Home and Nest, tells The Verge, noting that the company is “opening up access on a rolling basis so they can begin building and testing within their apps.”

Developers will need to pass tests to receive certification to use the APIs, Google explains in a blog post that emphasizes the APIs can be used to integrate with any device that works with the Matter standard.

Google Home Engineering Director Matt Van Der Staay tells The Verge the program is “designed to be private and secure. ‘Users are always in control and need to explicitly grant access to their structure and smart home devices before an app can access it’” and can revoke access any time.

Any app using the APIs will require access to an in-home Google hub, in order to control devices locally. Google says it is accommodating this need by “turning Google TVs into Google Home hubs and Matter controllers,” The Verge reports.

Google now has three APIs on offer for its Smart Home: “the new Device and Structure API and the Automation API join the Commissioning API, which is used for things like bulbs and plugs, TechRadar writes. “The hope is that developers of all kinds of apps can now create instances where their apps can tap into the smart home ecosystems of homeowners who are using their products and services.”

Related:
Chromecast with Google TV Will Soon Act as a Google Home Hub, 9to5Google, 5/15/24
Google Is Turning Its TVs into Home Hubs, ZDNet, 5/15/24
Your Chromecast and LG TV Might Soon Get a Google Home Upgrade, TechRadar, 5/16/24