Somfy threatens with bans if users overload API

Smart home manufacturer Somfy warns customers who use third-party scripts or apps in an email to stop using the API frequently. According to Somfy, systems are overloaded as a result. If customers don’t quit, Somfy will hand out bans, Somfy has sent the email to customers using third-party applications or proprietary scripts to access the smart home manufacturer’s API. The manufacturer can tell by monitoring where the traffic going to the API is coming from. Somfy says the third-party apps and scripts do not respect the company’s guidelines for using the API and the back-end is overloaded as a result. The manufacturer calls on users to make adjustments to their scripts before October 31, or to ask developers of apps to reduce the use of the API. Third parties should only send the ‘GET / setup endpoint’ request to the API once per user session and not use it to refresh the data repeatedly, Somfy says. Somfy writes that users of its smart home hubs TaHoma and Connexoon are not supposed to use the take the brunt of a small group of users overloading the api. In the coming months, the company will therefore set rate limiters and start handing out automatic bans if users continue to use the API frequently. A developer creating a Somfy plug-in for smart home platform Homey is already tweaking its Somfy integration. so that the api is accessed less often. He also says to contact the manufacturer to find a solution. The open source automation platform Home Assistant also has integration with Somfy via the API. Developers on GitHub discuss changes they make to lower the polling rate, Somfy is best known for its smart roller blinds. The manufacturer also makes other smart home devices, such as a smart lock and an alarm system. With the TaHoma and Connexoon, the manufacturer has its own hubs in its range to control the Somfy equipment. The warning affects users of other platforms, such as Homey and Home Assistant, who use the API to integrate Somfy hardware into their ecosystem.