'It'll make it much easier to avoid Trump supporting businesses': New app called the 'Yelp for conservatives' gets mixed reviews

Kristine Solomon
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The makers of the new app 63red Safe hope to make it safe to go out in public wearing MAGA gear. (Photo: Getty Images)
The makers of the new app 63red Safe hope to make it safe to go out in public wearing MAGA gear. (Photo: Getty Images)

An app nicknamed “Yelp for conservatives” recently launched to help users locate restaurants and other public businesses where patrons can confidently wear Make America Great Again hats and bear firearms without the risk of harassment.

The app, 63red Safe, was created in response to an alleged uptick in discrimination against white Americans, as evidenced, in part, by the responses of 75 percent of Republicans and 55 percent of Independents who took part in a recent poll by Hill-HarrisX. Conservatives feel specifically that their right to wear MAGA gear has been targeted, according to The Hill.

“We feel like there’s a general unease among conservatives out there about whether they’ll be protected and safe if they go out to restaurants and local businesses,” said Scott Wallace, the founder of 63red Safe during an appearance on Fox and Friends.

He said his app relies on user-generated reviews based on four criteria to identify “safe” businesses. The four questions that 63red Safe reviewers are asked include, “Does this location serve all customers regardless of political beliefs? Will they protect their customers if they’re under attack by others in the restaurant?,” as well as a concealed carry question, and a question about whether the location has a political presence on their social media accounts, according to Wallace.

“We wanted to make sure that people could let others know what restaurants may have a political bend,” Wallace said of his app. “And we’re not looking to try to find restaurants that are conservative or pro-Trump. Our aim is to get politics out of local businesses, local restaurants and make everyone feel comfortable when they go out.”

Opinions are split about 63red Safe on social media. Some conservatives appreciate the service…

Some people are skeptical.

But it’s mostly liberals who are speaking up about another potential use for the app.

For now, 63red Safe does not poll the owners or employees of restaurants and other businesses reviewed on its site, which can be marked “safe” or “unsafe.” Wallace told Fox and Friends, “We want businesses to understand that there’s no money in politics, and we’re working to call them out on it. People just want to go out and eat. They want to go out and shop. Let’s not mix the two.”

Wallace said his company is in the process of “building a suite of conservative tools,” and that 63red Safe is its third app to date, allowing users to type in search terms like “pizza” or “sushi” to find politically neutral eateries and other businesses in their area using GPS technology. “We want to make sure everyone’s safe out there,” Wallace said.

But the company is already dealing with a situation that might not make users feel very safe at all. According to Ars Technica, user data is vulnerable on the app. “Someone could retrieve the user name, email, ban status, and other details on each user account,” the site said. “Passwords were not in this data, but the entire user database could be retrieved by iterating through all the possible first letters or digits of an account ID.”

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