You can self host Protect. It’s what I did for ages when I was using a few of their cameras. Don’t have to use cloud unless you want to.

There’s a lot of downsides to ubiquiti (I’ve been dunking on them all over this thread) but there’s a LOT of great stuff too, and being able to self-host their management suite if you choose to do so is GREAT. That doesn’t make me want to invest in their walled garden for cameras, but for people who want to get into a functional ecosystem they’re a great choice. Overall the price:performance curve is not worth it to me, though, but neither are apple products, even though I know they work well also.