GUWonder

Without the Apple crowdsourced surveillance network — as set up by Apple’s “Find My” arrangement on Apple devices — what’s AirTags compelling selling point?

Calling it a crowdsourced surveillance network isn’t an overstatement, as AirTags is relying upon Apple's crowdsourced surveillance network to give AirTags much of whatever compelling value there is in it for its users. Without the Apple "Find My"-enabled crowdsourced surveillance network, the Apple trackers wouldn't really be effective trackers at any substantial distance. Trackers are only as effective as they can be surveilled or surveil.

Tile says much the same kind of thing as Apple about its crowdsourced surveillance network operation, but they both sell their trackers on the basis that they have a crowdsourced surveillance network that works even as they won't call a crowdsourced surveillance network what it is: a crowdsourced surveillance network.

That a crowdsourced surveillance network operation has some built-in protections for some privacy doesn't eliminate the nature of the crowded surveillance network being a crowdsourced surveillance network.