When Google decided to deprecate its Works with Nest API, there was a litany of questions left behind of what would happen. Some of those answers came when third parties started sending notices to Nest product owners saying that their apps and routines would not work with their cameras, thermostats, and other appliances past August 31 (or earlier). At the same time, as Nest account holders begrudgingly move their roots to a Google account, there are questions as to if all the Works with Nest integrations will be carried over. Google has come back today with answers.

To recap the biggest positives that are supposed to come with the Nest-to-Google migration, Google would be able bring all of its enhancements to 2-step verification and suspicious activity alerts when it comes to accessing to certain controls. It would also subject its developer partners to stricter privacy standards when it comes to how Nest sensors and recordings will be used and how permissions can be managed — one example is being able to allow data from outdoor cameras to be processed by a third party, but not from the camera in the nursery.

For now, Google says that existing Works with Nest integrations will continue to perform normally until whenever the third-party developers decide to deprecate their links. The company says their Nest devices will stop accepting new WWN connections on August 31.

In lieu of WWN, Google will be promoting its Works with Google Assistant API, preparing more triggers for its Routines such as Home/Away status and motion sensing. Google Assistant is already linked with over 3,500 partners (including IFTTT) and 30,000 devices — this means that users will likely find the same apps and actions from the Works with Google Assistant library that they had from the Works with Nest library for all their Nest devices. There's no one-touch automatic migration here, so it'll be "unplug, replug, and play" as far as the process goes.

The company is also working on dedicated Alexa skills for Nest Thermostat and Nest Cam to cover its Amazon Echo-using base that won't be able to take advantage of the superseding WWGA API.

When our Scott Scrivens first wrote about the Nest move, he framed it as a test for Google's good name as a services provider for customers that weren't necessarily already buying into that name. It's got a lot of bulking up to do to seal the trust in for Nest.

Source: Google