Argh, that sucks.

So why can’t I read them for free too?

I can. Don’t you have libraries in your country?

I do NOT want my thermostats to phone home. I don’t see any value of that.

But they are connected to MY smart home system (Hone Assistant), and THAT is accessible from the internet.

I get the remote monitoring and control that I want, and they don’t get any of my data. Perfect!