I think most people wouldn't bother to do that, but there's nothing inherently wrong with it. If your wife finds it annoying it might be because she feels like her use of AC is now being monitored and judged. You should probably make it clear that that's not the case. If it is the case, then yeah, you should stop.
We got a free Nest thermostat through the local electric company. That's exactly the sentiment. I like automated, she prefers manual. Though changing temps from the bed is nice.
Those often come with fine print and custom firmware (it's a rewards program google offers/partners with power companies for) that allows the electric company to forcibly set the temp higher than you'd like, usually during peak demand like a heat wave. I'm not big on others deciding what temp I should be.
Thank you for noting that. We had received previous "offers" that did include some form of "we'll give you hardware, you let us limit it", the offer we took was not one of those. Just simply a free thermostat.