Well that is how Airtags work.

Any iphone/ipad/mac nearby will act as a router for them[1]

Given that we have already established that LG is a shady company, I wouldn't put it beyond them to try to use the same trick.

brookst 8 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That is not how AirTags work. They do not reach out to Apple servers at all.

AirTags broadcast an encrypted ID. Phones build lists of ID’s they’ve seen and send the list to Apple.

There is no routing, no ability to send arbitrary data, no active communication of any sort. It’s not a mesh network.

The link you posted makes that pretty clear.

	▲	lazide 21 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		uh, that is just all the iphones acting as a mesh network for airtag ID’s? it means you can’t block the tracking by doing anything yourself - you’d also need to block everyone else’s devices too.

It's also how Amazon Sidewalk works for many Alexa-enabled devices

	▲	wolvoleo 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah and my worry is, TVs like this can use sidewalk to connect to when they are not provided with internet access by the user (either but plugging into ethernet or connecting WiFi). Leaving the TV with an always-available exfiltration channel for it's espionage of the user's viewing habits. This is a really bad thing for those of us who until now have just not connected our 'smart' shit to the internet. Where I live in the EU they don't do sidewalk otherwise I'd have to look at ways to fight it (disassociate connections or DDoS the devices providing sidewalk routing)