TUSK Search

About TUSK Search

My friend Margaret told me about TUSK Search last year. She said it was a clean, simple app for finding local shops without all the fuss. I liked the sound of that, so I downloaded it to my iPhone. I was hoping for something straightforward to help me find new places in my own town. Right from the beginning, though, it felt off. The screen looked a bit plain, but I figured simple was good. My first search for a garden center near me brought up places that I knew had been closed for years. That was my first clue this app wasn’t going to be much help.

Features & Highlights

The main thing you do is type what you’re looking for into a box. I’ve tried “family diner,” “pharmacy,” and “post office.” It always gives me a list, but the list is never right. One Tuesday morning, I needed a new spool of thread for a sewing project. I searched for “fabric store.” The app showed one called “Stitch & Sew” about a mile away with great reviews. I drove over there, only to find a vacant storefront with a “For Lease” sign in the window. The map inside the app put the pin right on that empty building. There’s also a button for “Local Specials,” but tapping it just takes you out of the app to some website full of pop-ups. It doesn’t feel like a real feature at all.

User Experience

Using this app is frustrating. It doesn’t save you any time; it creates a whole new chore. Just last week, my husband and I wanted to try a new Italian restaurant for our anniversary dinner on a Friday night. I pulled up TUSK Search, found “Mario’s Trattoria,” and it said it was open until 10 PM. We called the number listed to make a reservation. A very confused man answered and said he was a private residence and we had the wrong number. We ended up just driving to a place we knew, which was fine, but it spoiled the fun of trying something new. The app itself is clunky too. If you click on a business to see more details, getting back to your search list is a puzzle. Sometimes it goes back, sometimes it dumps you on the home screen. I’m not a tech wizard, but I know when something isn’t designed well.

Pricing

The app is free, which is the only reason I haven’t gotten more upset about it. You don’t pay any money. What you do pay with is your time and your patience. I’ve spent more gas driving to wrong addresses than I care to think about. Even for free, it’s not worth keeping on my phone. I’d rather see a couple of ads in a different app and get the right address than use this one and be sent on a wild goose chase.

Updates & Support

When I couldn’t find that fabric store, I decided to try and tell the developers about the wrong listing. I found a “Help” section buried in the settings menu. I filled out a form explaining what happened, that the store was closed and the number was wrong. I sent it off and hoped they’d fix it. That was back in March. I never heard a thing back from anyone. I checked the App Store page on my phone, and it looks like the last time they updated the app was almost a year ago. It feels completely abandoned. If the people who made it don’t care enough to fix it or even answer a user, why should I bother?

Security & Privacy

I will say, the app doesn’t bother me with ads, which is nice. It also has a little note in its description saying it values user privacy and doesn’t sell your data. I appreciate that sentiment. But honestly, it’s hard to worry too much about privacy when the main function of the app—giving you accurate information—is so badly broken. It’s like having a front door with five locks on it, but the walls of the house are made of tissue paper. The promise of privacy feels empty when the app itself doesn’t work.