Does TunnelBear log? – killerinsideme.com (2024)

• Company: TunnelBear

• Website
• Supported Devices
• Apps
• Usability Score: 7/10

• Servers and Locations
• Speeds
• Streaming
• Performance Score: 3.25/5

• VPN Protocols
  • OpenVPN
  • IKEv2/IPsec
  • Jurisdiction
  • Logging Policy
  • Torrent Policy
  • Privacy and Policies Score: 4.25/5
  • Customer Support
  • Pricing and Payment
  • Service and Value Score: 4.5/5
  • Which VPNs Offer Free Trials?
  • What are Web Trackers?

  TunnelBear Features

  • Vigilant mode – if your connection gets disrupted or dropped for any reason, TunnelBear will block all unsecured internet traffic until it’s safely reconnected
  • Always on – once connected, you’ll stay connected, that is until you turn the TunnelBear service off
  • Closest tunnel – TunnelBear chooses connections that are nearby (aka the lowest “ping”) so you keep and maintain a fast internet connection
  • No logging policy – TunnelBear doesn’t store the websites you visit in a database
  • Fast internet
  • Safe Wi-Fi experience – TunnelBear protects your computer when you’re connected to insecure networks, like those at coffee shops; in other words, they provide a local firewall for protection and an encrypted tunnel for internet privacy
  • A worldwide network consisting of more than 1,800 servers in 22 countries
  • Strong encryption (AES 256-bit)
  • Anti-VPN blocking so you can stream content from services like Netflix and Hulu
  • Support for multiple devices/platforms
  • Up to 5 simultaneous connections

  Company: TunnelBear

  24 months $ 4.17 /month

  12 months $ 4.99 /month

  1 month $ 9.99 /month

  If You’re In a Rush and Just Want Our Concise Opinion …

  If you’re looking for a VPN that’s easy to set up, simple to use and packed with privacy protections, search no more: TunnelBear is just what you’re looking for. Bonus: cute bears everywhere!

  About TunnelBear

  TunnelBear was founded in 2011 by Canadian tech entrepreneurs Ryan Dochuk and Daniel Kaldor. Dochuk, a former Microsoft employee, manages the corporate end of the company, while Kaldor, who studied math at Cambridge, leads the technical side.

  In March of 2018, TunnelBear was acquired by McAfee, an American computer security company best known for its antivirus software. Despite the acquisition, TunnelBear continues to be headquartered in Toronto and run by its original founders.

  TunnelBear Usability

  Website

  

  Most VPN websites these days look, for the most part, very similar: navigation at the top, a large introductory banner with a catchy slogan and, as you scroll down, panels of features complete with minimalist-style graphics. It’s not a bad layout, per se, but it does make all the companies that use it blend into one another.

  TunnelBear adheres to the same basic layout as its competitors, but with one notable difference: bears. They’re everywhere, from the animated grizzly, teeth bared and claws unsheathed, that pops out of a tunnel on the homepage to the smaller ones that populate the features panels, gnawing through security camera cords and reaching through computer screens to swat away threats.

  All of TunnelBear’s employees are introduced on the About page, along with mini-bios and (of course) bear-ified portraits. Aside from being cute, it’s a personable touch that makes the company feel more human, unlike many other VPNs whose creators and staff are nameless and faceless.

  While the bears are enchanting, to be sure, it’s hard not to wish that some of the effort put into them had been redirected towards the website’s actual content instead. Some of TunnelBear’s features, like its VigilantBear kill switch and GhostBear traffic obfuscation, get their own informational pages, but most get nothing more than a sentence or two, plus a bear graphic.

  Most of the informative content is found in the “Help” section. Though the articles here are well-written and easy to understand regardless of technical skills, there aren’t that many of them; additionally, quite a few contain links to TunnelBear blog posts that promise more information, but the entire blog appears to be dead and the links redirect to a slightly different version of the current homepage.

  With no details regarding topics like encryption, protocols or DNS and only bare-bones information on its main selling points, TunnelBear’s website isn’t likely to satisfy anyone with even novice-level technical knowledge. Cuteness aside, there’s simply not a lot of substance here.

  Supported Devices

  

  TunnelBear provides apps for Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android. Browser extensions are offered for Chrome, Firefox and Opera; the latter is a fairly unique offering among VPNs, as most providers only provide extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

  In its help desk article about device support, TunnelBear mentions that it provides “limited support” for Linux and links to a manual configuration guide; however, this guide was located on the now-defunct blog and is unreachable. We plugged the link into the Wayback Machine and pulled up the most recently archived version, which provides step-by-step instructions as well as a download of the required OpenVPN configuration files, but the guide was last updated in June of 2017 and is likely to be obsolete by now.

  You won’t find manual configuration guides for any other devices – no routers, no gaming consoles, no smart TVs, no streaming boxes, no e-readers. If you’re crafty and have some IT experience under your belt, you may be able to get TunnelBear running on an unsupported device by using the OpenVPN configuration files from the archived Linux guide, but we haven’t tested this and you’re probably better off with a VPN that officially supports your target device.

  Apps

  

  So far, TunnelBear has trended towards simplicity and visual pleasantness over heaps of content and techie jargon. It may not have been the most effective approach for the website, but it works better for the apps.

  Open the TunnelBear app and you’re shown a map of the world that’s dotted with little tunnels that denote countries with servers. It’s cute, much like the rest of the company’s aesthetic, and is reminiscent of the old Super Mario games – a pleasing twist of modern and retro design elements.

  You can select a tunnel on the map, pick a country from a traditional list or let the app’s Auto Tunnel feature select the server with the lowest ping. Toggle the VPN on and a bear will “tunnel” from your real location to your chosen server, popping its head out of the tunnel opening and confirming your connection.

  It’s perhaps the easiest server selection mechanism we’ve seen, but if you like to choose your server based on criteria like city, bandwidth load or latency, you’re out of luck. TunnelBear doesn’t provide any of this information; the best you can do is pick a country or, if speed is your main concern, let the Auto Tunnel consult its secret list of ping times and choose a server for you.

  Settings are pretty minimal yet surprisingly advanced at the same time: you can’t change your protocol (save for switching between TCP and UDP for OpenVPN) or alter your DNS, but you can set up a list of trusted networks (allowing the VPN to automatically connect when you’re on a non-trusted network) and enable the kill switch and obfuscation features. On Android, you can also enable split tunneling (renamed here to SplitBear), a neat feature that lets you direct some apps to use the VPN while letting others use your regular connection.

  TunnelBear’s iOS app lacks most of these features due to Apple’s developer restrictions, but you can still create a list of trusted networks. Both mobile apps include a few just-for-fun features that you can enable, such as bear sounds and clouds floating around the map.

  Usability Score: 7/10

  This was a tricky score to decide on because TunnelBear is, for the most part, extremely usable. There’s virtually no learning curve and everything is explained clearly enough that even computer newbies should have no trouble getting connected.

  The apps are lovely to look at and smooth to use, without extraneous features bogging them down or unnecessarily complicated interfaces, and they’re available for the four most popular OSes. All in all, TunnelBear’s user experience is fantastic for casual users, families, those who are new to the internet and anyone who wants a simple, stylish VPN.

  But there are other kinds of users for whom TunnelBear’s usability is likely to fall short: those who choose their servers based on statistics, computer whizzes who need the ability to fine-tune their tech, Linux users, curious minds seeking more technical information and users of streaming boxes or game consoles. For these folks, TunnelBear’s simplicity may be a con rather than a pro, as advanced functionality and detailed documentation are set aside in favor of slick design and straightforward setup.

  There’s no reason why introductory and in-depth information couldn’t coexist on TunnelBear’s website; we hope that more detailed content is added in the future. We’d also like to see server stats and a few more options, like DNS configuration, included in the apps.

  For all that it lacks, however, TunnelBear succeeds in making VPNs accessible to just about anyone, the importance of which can’t be understated. With online privacy under threat across the globe, it’s imperative that everyone, not just techies, take steps to protect themselves, and TunnelBear’s user-friendly approach makes that task so easy, a bear could do it.

  TunnelBear Performance

  Servers and Locations

  

  Geographic diversity is a critical aspect of a VPN for multiple reasons – more international streaming capabilities, access to a wider range of geo-restricted websites and faster connections for users around the world. Numbers aren’t everything, but larger server arrays allow for better load management, which in turn ensures that your speeds don’t suffer during peak usage times.

  TunnelBear has servers in 22 countries. North America is home to servers in Canada, the USA and Mexico; Europe’s servers are located in the UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Romania, France, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and Norway.

  Asia is represented by servers in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and India, while Australia and New Zealand connect Oceania to the network. South America’s only server location is Brazil; Africa and the Middle East don’t have any servers at all.

  While TunnelBear’s overall country count is much lower than its competition (VyprVPN’s servers are spread out over 64 countries; ExpressVPN has servers in 94 countries), its server distribution is fairly typical for VPNs. Europe and North America are usually the most popular regions, followed by Asia and Oceania, so it makes sense for providers to focus their attention on those areas.

  However, many providers are beginning to offer more servers in Africa, South America and the Middle East – underrepresented regions where VPNs are often sorely needed due to internet censorship and government surveillance. We’d like to see TunnelBear expand its server array into these areas as well.

  Unlike most VPN providers, TunnelBear doesn’t provide a full server count, nor does it disclose the cities its servers are located in; you can pick a country, but that’s it. The lack of further information is peculiar, especially given the size of countries like the USA and Australia, where the speed difference between cities on opposite coasts could be massive.

  The USA, at least, seems to have servers in multiple cities – users have reported that they’ve connected to TunnelBear servers in New York City and San Francisco. It isn’t clear whether servers in other countries are spread out or concentrated in one city.

  Sometimes, VPNs will divide a single physical server into multiple virtual ones, which function as individual servers and can be configured to appear as if they’re in different countries than they actually are. While TunnelBear does run virtual servers as needed for load management, their locations are never altered; all servers, virtual or not, state their true location, which assuages concerns about sensitive data passing through different countries without your knowledge.

  Speeds

  Speed isn’t everything when it comes to a VPN, and you’re unlikely to replicate any given user’s speed test results even if you’re using the same VPN. Any number of bottlenecks – outdated or faulty hardware, bad weather, overloaded bandwidth, long distances – could negatively impact your connection speed; it’s so individualized that it’s impossible to say for certain how fast you’ll be able to browse with TunnelBear.

  Complicating things even further is the fact that TunnelBear doesn’t disclose the city you’re connected to, only the country. If, for example, you’re connecting to the USA from the UK, your speed will be significantly lower if your target server is in San Francisco rather than New York – those several thousand miles make a huge difference in speed and latency.

  Overall, though, TunnelBear’s speeds are great over short distances and acceptable over longer ones. Local connection speeds in North America and Europe are generally within 75% of baseline connection speeds, so if your regular connection is around 75Mbps, your closest TunnelBear connection should reach 60Mbps or higher.

  Overseas connection speeds are highly variable, again due to the vague server locations provided by TunnelBear. Europe to North America connections range from 70% to 30% of baseline speed, and since you can’t choose your server based on city, reaching the upper end of that range is a matter of luck.

  Interestingly, some of TunnelBear’s far-off servers, like those in India and Singapore, delivered relatively excellent speeds compared to the competition. While other providers’ servers in these countries struggle to achieve 10% of your normal speed, TunnelBear’s servers can reach 30-60%, an impressive figure that’s likely to be a big draw for travelers and residents of these regions.

  Streaming

  

  The world has caught on to the practice of using a VPN to circumvent geo-restrictions put in place by Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and many other streaming sites. For a while, it was almost too easy to change your location with a VPN and stream content from any country you wanted, regardless of your actual location and any licensing restrictions placed on your chosen movie or TV show.

  But as more and more people started doing just that, streaming sites began to intervene, blocking VPN IPs as soon as they’re identified and utilizing advanced technologies like deep packet inspection (DPI) to detect new VPN connections. As a result, just about every VPN company has struggled to provide consistent access to streaming sites.

  TunnelBear is no exception here. Users are rarely able to access US Netflix, and most other streaming sites, including international Netflix as well as BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video, are completely inaccessible.

  While TunnelBear doesn’t tout itself as a streaming powerhouse like some of its competitors, its lack of streaming support is a bit disappointing nonetheless. Most VPNs are at least able to access US Netflix and BBC iPlayer, which are two of the most-desired streaming sites; while you may occasionally be successful with the former, don’t count on consistent access with TunnelBear.

  Performance Score: 3.25/5

  As with usability, there’s nothing particularly wrong with TunnelBear’s performance. The company doesn’t make any claims that don’t hold up, and everything works well for what it is.

  The problem is that, for the most part, TunnelBear lags behind its competitors. While its servers are well-distributed, there’s no transparency regarding their quantities, statistics or even cities; other providers cover more countries and disclose more information about their servers.

  Streaming is another sore spot here. Even though TunnelBear doesn’t advertise itself as being good for streaming, functionality in this area is pretty much nonexistent, so you’re better off with another provider if you plan to do any streaming at all.

  With that said, TunnelBear’s speeds are quite competitive – they may not reach the same peak highs as other providers’, but they’re consistently solid throughout all regions and across long distances. This is a rare achievement and we commend TunnelBear for maintaining such a strong global network.

  Bottom line? If you don’t need international streaming, tons of connection statistics or dozens of countries on your server roster and simply want a VPN with a bit of geographic diversity and reliably strong speeds, TunnelBear’s offerings will be as sweet as honey.

  TunnelBear Security

  

  VPN Protocols

  To choose a VPN protocol is to choose your security strength, encryption type, connection processing speed and network detectability. TunnelBear offers two protocols but, as with many of its features, simplifies things by taking user choice out of the equation; rather, the protocol you use is determined by your device.

  OpenVPN

  If you use Windows, MacOS or Android, you’ll be using OpenVPN with TunnelBear. This is a good thing – it’s probably the best VPN protocol currently in existence, combining optimized speeds with ultra-secure AES-256 encryption to deliver a balanced VPN experience.

  You do get a bit of choice here, as you’re able to choose whether OpenVPN communicates over TCP or UDP. Choose UDP if your connection is solid and you want top speeds; choose TCP if you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of speed for greater data integrity and a lower risk of detection by network administrators.

  IKEv2/IPsec

  TunnelBear’s iOS app doesn’t support OpenVPN. Apple doesn’t include native OpenVPN support in iOS and heavily restricts the way app developers can implement it, so the vast majority of VPN apps for iOS (including TunnelBear) use IKEv2/IPsec instead.

  IKEv2/IPsec offers the same AES-256 encryption as OpenVPN, so you’re no less protected on iOS than on any other OS. The one downside is that IKEv2/IPsec must use UDP port 500; to network administrators, traffic over this port is a strong indicator of VPN usage, so they may block it and render your VPN unusable on that network.

  Interestingly, a reverse engineer by the name Byte 255 examined the source code of TunnelBear’s Windows app and found that it is capable of using IKEv2/IPsec as well as OpenVPN. For whatever reason, though, there’s no option to do so in the app; perhaps it’s a sign of an upcoming feature.

  VigilantBear Kill Switch

  

  Most VPNs now offer kill switches, which we heartily approve of. A kill switch is a critical feature for the security-conscious, as it prevents any unsecured data from being transmitted in the event of a VPN disconnection or network interruption.

  TunnelBear’s kill switch has a bear-themed name, VigilantBear, but other than that, it’s much like any other kill switch: turn it on and it’ll block all incoming and outgoing internet traffic if your VPN connection fails suddenly. That way, you won’t accidentally send sensitive data over an unsecured connection.

  VigilantBear is available on Windows, MacOS and Android; we appreciate its inclusion in the Android app as most VPN providers simply instruct users to enable the system kill switch, a feature that’s not available to the 61% of users who aren’t using Android 8 or higher.

  GhostBear

  VPNs prevent your internet activity from being monitored, your browsing history from being monetized and your connection from being selectively throttled. Naturally, they’re loathed by ISPs and governments, who regularly engage in and profit from these and similar practices.

  To combat VPN use, many ISPs, governments, businesses and other authorities use DPI and other technologies to detect and block VPN connections. TunnelBear fights back against this with its GhostBear obfuscation feature, which alters your connection metadata so it doesn’t look like a typical VPN connection, thus allowing it to circumvent DPI and network filters.

  GhostBear is available for Windows, MacOS and Android. It’s disabled by default as it slows down your connection and isn’t beneficial unless you’re dealing with VPN blocks, but if you’re ever unable to establish a VPN connection, GhostBear is there to help.

  Blocker

  

  Chrome users, rejoice: you don’t even need to be a TunnelBear subscriber to use the company’s powerful browser extension, Blocker. Ad blockers are nothing new, but TunnelBear designed Blocker to be a comprehensive tracker prevention tool.

  Blocker can stop pop-ups and malicious redirects in their tracks, but it also protects you from the less-obvious trackers that now proliferate the internet: pixel trackers in emails that let senders monitor if and when you read their messages; ultrasonic trackers that use inaudible frequencies to link you and your devices to the ads you see on TV; browser fingerprinting that tracks you through your unique browser profile; and social network plugins that let Facebook and Twitter know which websites you’ve visited.

  In short, Blocker is like a big bear-hug for your browser – no ads, trackers or nefarious scripts will be able to loosen its grasp.

  Security Audits

  One of the best trends to hit the VPN industry in recent years is independent auditing. A VPN provider can hire a cybersecurity company to examine its systems and code for security vulnerabilities as well as adherence to stated policies and practices.

  For the past two years, TunnelBear has undergone an annual independent audit from cybersecurity firm Cure53. The comprehensive audit is conducted over the course of a month and places every aspect of the VPN under high scrutiny.

  You can view the results of the 2018 TunnelBear audit here (PDF link). It’s a fairly technical document, but the gist of it is that the auditors found several security vulnerabilities in the TunnelBear apps that would permit the granting of administrator privileges to a guest user with physical access to the computer on which the app was installed.

  These local security vulnerabilities, which did not involve or effect the actual VPN connection, were immediately fixed upon discovery. Several other minor issues were also resolved, and the auditors concluded that TunnelBear had demonstrated both commitment and skill with regards to security.

  Anyone can say that their product is safe and secure, but it shouldn’t be up to the customer to take on the risk of testing that statement. By undergoing an independent audit every year and publicizing the results, TunnelBear rightfully removes that burden from the user and replaces it with unbiased, comprehensive proof of its security.

  Security Score: 5/5

  When it comes to security, TunnelBear is all claws – and that’s a very good thing.

  Two protocol options may not seem like a lot, but they’re the two most secure ones out there, and the lack of outdated protocols like PPTP and L2TP makes things both easier and safer for VPN newbies.

  We wish VigilantBear was enabled by default as it’s a critical VPN feature, but we’re glad to see it included in the TunnelBear Android app where it can provide protection for all Android users, not just those with the latest devices. GhostBear probably won’t be necessary for most users, but for those who do need it, such as activists and surveillance targets, it could be a literal lifesaver.

  It’s always nice to see VPNs and other internet companies looking out for all web users, not just paying customers. TunnelBear’s Blocker app is its contribution to the wider internet, raising awareness of a new generation of invasive trackers and providing a way to defeat them; it could easily have been a premium VPN feature, but instead it’s free for everyone.

  Security-wise, the real proof is in the PDF – that is, the public audit undertaken every year by TunnelBear. It takes both humility and confidence to publicize security audit results; by doing so, and by promptly patching the vulnerabilities detailed in them, TunnelBear establishes itself as veritably worthy of your trust.

  TunnelBear Privacy and Policies

  Jurisdiction

  

  TunnelBear is based in Canada, which is likely to set off a few alarm bells if you’re well-versed in privacy politics.

  As a member of the international surveillance alliance Five Eyes, Canada engages in the monitoring and sharing of data that flows within its borders. The true extent of this is, of course, top secret, but NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden have revealed that Canada shares data with its fellow Five Eyes members (the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand) and even requests that they spy on Canadian citizens in order to circumvent laws against domestic surveillance.

  But there are no mandatory data retention laws in the nation, so TunnelBear doesn’t have to store any of your data, and live traffic surveillance would only reveal heavily encrypted data that’s currently unbreakable and essentially useless in its garbled state.

  Though TunnelBear does have to comply with lawful requests from authorities for user data, it has a dedicated legal team for handling such requests, plus it can’t turn over what it doesn’t have. As we’ll see in the next section, the minimal user information TunnelBear possesses is impossible to link to your activity and is devoid of anything that authorities are likely to find useful.

  Logging Policy

  TunnelBear does not log any IP addresses, DNS queries or session activity. The latter encompasses everything you do after connecting to the VPN, including timestamps, the websites you visit, the apps you use and the files you download; at no point is anyone except you able to know anything at all about your browsing activity.

  The minimal information that is logged by TunnelBear is done so for account creation and troubleshooting purposes. Your email address is stored as an account identifier and you’re free to use an anonymous email address if you wish; the only other personal information stored is your account status (free or paid), your subscription expiry date (if you’re a paid user) and your Twitter ID (if you signed up through a Twitter promotion).

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  A few pieces of technical data are stored in order to provide troubleshooting and customer support, including your OS, your TunnelBear app version, your total monthly bandwidth usage and whether or not your account was used in the past month. Some events, such as creating an account or posting a payment, are also logged for account and payment troubleshooting purposes, but these do not include any events related to your VPN usage or session activity.

  If you pay with a credit card, TunnelBear will store your last name, the last four digits of the card number and the date of the payment. Additionally, the third-party payment processors used by TunnelBear store your billing address, card expiration date and your device type and IP address at the time of payment; these processors are subject to extremely strict privacy laws and this information is only accessed in the event of credit card fraud.

  Most VPNs, even the ones that posit themselves as no-logs providers, do store these types of information in order to provide technical support. This information can’t connect you to any of your online activity, none of which is logged in any way, and you can avoid disclosing any of your real information by using an anonymous email address and paying with Bitcoin.

  TunnelBear’s privacy policy is one of the most thorough we’ve seen. Everything is stated in easy-to-understand language and no detail is left unexplained, from the purpose of each and every website cookie to the types of data that used to be (but are no longer) collected.

  Torrent Policy

  On the topic of torrenting, TunnelBear takes no official stance either way – neither torrents nor P2P filesharing in general is mentioned on the website at all. While the terms of use contain the standard “no piracy” clause, so do those of every other VPN provider, even those who promote themselves as torrent-friendly; besides, these clauses are unenforceable thanks to the traffic encryption provided by VPNs.

  With no explicit torrent ban, it’s allowed by default. Users report being able to torrent freely on all servers with no issues, so it’s safe to say that whether you’re a casual downloader or a power seeder, you’ll do just fine with TunnelBear.

  Privacy and Policies Score: 4.25/5

  

  We’ll concede that Canada isn’t the best place for a VPN to be headquartered, but it’s far from the worst, too. It may not have the renowned privacy protections of Switzerland or the extensive corporate rights of Panama, but it lacks the draconian data retention laws of the UK and it’s been at the forefront of some promising news in recent months, including its proposed digital privacy enhancements and its very public pressuring of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to address his company’s privacy violations.

  Regardless of jurisdiction, a VPN is only as vulnerable to authorities as its logs are detailed, and TunnelBear’s logs contain, well, the “bear” minimum. It’s entirely possible – and very easy – to completely anonymize your TunnelBear account, and the technical data that’s associated with it contains nothing that would be of interest to anyone except a tech support representative.

  The company is forthcoming and plain-spoken regarding the minimal customer data it stores and how it uses it, which is more than we can say for many of its competitors. Overall, TunnelBear is one of the most transparent VPNs we’ve reviewed when it comes to privacy, setting a standard that we hope other providers adopt as well.

  TunnelBear Service and Value

  Customer Support

  

  If you need help with your TunnelBear account or VPN connection, you have one option: email. There’s no live chat or phone support like you’d find with other VPNs, but that’s not as big of a problem as you might think.

  All too often, live chat support reps are poorly trained and respond with generic answers that don’t apply to your query. Instant support is pointless if it’s not helpful, and TunnelBear has decided that it would rather take a little extra time to provide excellent customer service via email.

  It may take a few hours rather than a few minutes to receive a reply to your question, but it’ll be written by a real person who read your message and understands how to solve your problem. Support reps are friendly, well-spoken and armed with seemingly endless bear puns – for this kind of service, the wait is well worth it.

  Pricing and Payment

  

  TunnelBear offers two service tiers: free and paid.

  The paid tier gives you unlimited bandwidth and five simultaneous connections; your customer support queries are prioritized as well. Service costs $9.99 per month, but this cost is halved to $4.99 per month if you prepay for a year in advance and both plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

  The free tier affords you all the features of the paid tier but with a 500MB monthly data cap and lower-priority customer support. It’s mostly useful as a way to test out TunnelBear before upgrading your account, but if you only need a VPN once in a while for banking or business correspondence, this may be as right for you as Baby Bear’s bed was for Goldilocks.

  TunnelBear accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Bitcoin as payment methods. As we discussed in the “Logging Policy” section above, paying with a credit card will require you to let TunnelBear store some of your personal information, so if you’re uncomfortable with that, Bitcoin is the way to go.

  Amusingly, jars of honey are also listed as an acceptable payment method. It’s almost certainly a joke and it’s not clear what the honey-to-USD exchange rate is anyway, but it’s a cute touch – when’s the last time you smiled while punching in your payment information?

  

  Service and Value Score: 4.5/5

  The phrase “customer support email” drudges up feelings of frustration and memories of endless inbox refreshing, but TunnelBear’s implementation subverts our expectations. Reps are personable, helpful and quite timely in their responses; though it would be nice to have the option of contacting them through a live chat for simple queries, it’s more of a wishlist item than a missing feature.

  While the free tier is pretty limited, it functions well as a full-featured trial or minimal-usage VPN, and we appreciate that TunnelBear offers it at all – most VPNs no longer offer free trials of any kind. Prices are lower than average and you can pay anonymously with Bitcoin, which should set your mind and your wallet at ease.

  Final Score: 4.1/5

  Some VPNs have servers in over a hundred countries; some provide speeds that max out your regular connection; some offer apps and support for every device and streaming site under the sun. TunnelBear doesn’t fall into any of these categories, but we believe in judging VPNs for what they are.

  TunnelBear is, ostensibly, a VPN for the average Joe – someone who wants security without fancy features and innumerable options, who doesn’t want to have to enroll in CompSci 301 to configure their VPN, who doesn’t need instant access to a world’s worth of foreign films and far-off servers. It’s for families, students, businesspeople and all manner of folks who simply want a trustworthy and affordable VPN that works.

  And TunnelBear provides just that. It’s easy to use, it delivers great speeds, it’s got a seal of approval from one of the world’s foremost cybersecurity firms and it puts your privacy before all else.

  Though we’d like to see more technical content on the website and more transparency regarding server locations and stats, these complaints have little bearing on the fact that TunnelBear’s cute and cuddly facade hides a ton of privacy-enhancing power. Power users will likely look elsewhere, but everybody else should take a look inside TunnelBear’s den – it might be just right for you.

  Related Questions

  After grinning and bearing it through all these puns, you deserve a hibernation in an article that’s barren of bear jokes… like one of these!

  Related Privacy Guides

  • VyprVPN Review: Snappy Apps, Secure Servers and Sweet Swiss Privacy
  • IPVanish Review: Disappearing Data and a Magical Transformation
  • AirVPN Review: Sky-High Security and a Breeze to Use

  Which VPNs Offer Free Trials?

  It’s always nice to take a VPN for a test drive before handing over your payment information. Some companies, like VyprVPN, offer short free trials that let you try before you buy, while others, like TunnelBear, let you tunnel for free indefinitely with a bandwidth cap.

  What are Web Trackers?

  Advertisers love trackers – tiny pieces of code that capture tons of information, which can then be used to show you targeted ads, track your browsing history and assemble a shockingly detailed profile of you for their profit. From pixel trackers that serve as email read receipts to Facebook “Like” buttons that don’t even need to be clicked to connect to your profile to your web activity, trackers are both invasive and omnipresent… but with a little effort, they can be defeated!

  Does TunnelBear Keep Logs?

  TunnelBear is a minimalist VPN provider with a great sense of humor and pretty user-friendly interface. As such, it’s recommended to users without previous technical knowledge or skills. The pricing plans are pretty reasonable and you can test the service with a free version that provides you with 500 MB of traffic.

  Having said that, we’re here to explore the company’s logging policy and how its location affects (if at all) its capability of ensuring top-tier online security. Stick around and learn if TunnelBear is the right online security service for you.

  

  Legislature

  TunnelBear is based in Canada, which is known for its invasive legislation. According to its Privacy Policy, by subscribing to TunnelBear, you authorize the company to use your data according to Canadian laws, which is very bad news for all VPN users since Canada is a member of the infamous Five Eyes Treaty.

  Canada is known for spying on its citizens in recent years and TunnelBear doesn’t add to the overall feeling of safety by “washing its hands” of pretty much any responsibility for providing online security to its users. That’s pretty unfortunate since it’s the main reason people buy VPNs in the first place.

  Furthermore, Canada has strict laws against piracy, so TunnelBear is a poor tool for torrenting or downloading any sort of copyrighted material.

  Logging Policy

  

  TunnelBear keeps no activity logs, which is a redeeming factor up to a point. This means that TunnelBear won’t record and store data regarding the sites you visit, the apps you use, the content you’re downloading, and so on. So, even if pressed to hand over user information, the company wouldn’t have anything relevant to give to the authorities.
  This, alongside a solid Privacy Policy, makes for an ok VPN, but you definitely have some better options out there, especially if you’re into torrenting.

  Bottom line, TunnelBear is not the worst choice in the world, but it definitely has a couple of major flaws. Personally, we would look for alternative options to keep us safe online.

  Want to find out even more about TunnelBear? Make sure to check out our TunnelBear Review for detailed information about this VPN provider.

  

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  Does TunnelBear log?

  TunnelBear uses one of two encryption protocols: OpenVPN and IPSec / IKEv2. The standard is 256 bit OpenVPNused on anything other than iOS devices (iPhone and iPad), instead using 256 bit IPSec / IKEv2 (128 bit IPSec on old iOS devices).

  Both OpenVPN and IKEv2 are recommended as they are both open source projects. Because the source codes of the protocols are thus publicly available, they are guaranteed that they do not have built-in master keys, backdoors or the like, which can compromise security and privacy.

  Security: 10 / 10

  anonymity

  TunnelBear does not lead logs over users’ use of VPNservice, which provides optimal privacy. This means that no data is stored on how far a user has been connected to one TunnelBear VPNserver, nor any websites, services, etc. that a user has used / visited. Therefore, it does not register which files a user downloads, etc.

  On TunnelBearon its website it is insulated as follows:

  • IP addresses visiting our website
  • IP addresses upon service connection
  • DNS Queries while connected
  • Eventuele informatie over de toepassingen, diensten of websites die onze gebruikers gebruiken tijdens hun verbinding met onze Service

  Here it is the highlighted points that protect the privacy of users.

  Third Party Audit of Tunnelbear

  TunnelBear is one of the few VPNservices that have had their system reviewed by third parties. The company Cure53, which specializes in testing the security of websites and online services, conducted a review in 2016 that revealed a number of problematic issues.

  Of course it was unfortunate, though TunnelBear took the criticism and did something about the situation. Half a year later in 2017, Cure53 performed a new revision where all the problems had been resolved and Cure53 reviewed again in 2018 TunnelBears systems.

  It can therefore be said with great certainty that TunnelBear lives up to the level of security and privacy that they themselves promise.

  Anonymity: 10 / 10

  Servers and features

  TunnelBear has servers in 23 countries and the network is thus not very large. However, it covers the most sought-after locations for Danish users, where servers in Denmark in particular are a big plus. Connected to a Danish server, you can achieve high speed if you are already in Denmark, or access Danish TV channels etc. if you are out of the country.

  

  TunnelBear VPN allows P2P on some of the servers, namely those in: Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Germany and the United States. On the other, torrents are blocked and thus do not work.

  Vigilant Bear is a Killswitchthat disconnects the entire Internet connection if switched to VPNserver is lost. It is an important feature that prevents compromise on security and privacy in the event of unintended consequences.

  Ghost Bear is an add-on feature designed to blur the use of VPN (obfuscation), which can be helpful in case ISPs or sites detect and block VPN using. deep packet inspection. This can often be necessary in countries such as China and Iran, where the state fights against the use of VPN to enforce censorship and control over the Internet. You should be aware that GhostBear/obfuscation can slow down the connection, so it should only be used if necessary.

  The subscription can be used on up to 5 different devices at the same time and can therefore easily be shared with others both inside and outside the family. There are apps for Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS (iPhone and iPad) as well as browser plugins / extensions for Chrome and Opera.

  Servers and Features: 8 / 10

  Prices TunnelBear subscriptions

  As with most others VPNservices, the price depends on a subscription TunnelBear of how long you bond.

  • Three year subscription for DKK 815 gives the lowest price per Month of $ 23 ($ 120 / $ 3.33).
  • A single year costs $ 407, equivalent to $ 34 a month ($ 59.88 / $ 4.99).
  • If you pay for one month at a time, the price is DKK 68 ($ 9.99).

  Unfortunately, there is no money-back guarantee, but in return can TunnelBear Free trial. The free subscription is limited to 500MB of traffic per month, so its usability is quite limited as the included data is quickly used.

  However, it is a great way to test TunnelBear free before paying, now that there is no right of return. It is also a good offer if you want to check emails and other “little things” on insecure open networks at airports, etc., but otherwise do not need a VPN subscription.

  One can by tweeting about TunnelBear get 1000MB extra traffic on top of the hat. Then the free subscription will last a little longer.

  Tip! If you use all your data on the free subscription, you will receive an email with a one-year offer for DKK 339 ($ 49.88) and thus save DKK 68 ($ 10).

  Credit cards (VISA, Mastercard etc.), Bitcoin (BTC) and honey can be paid for. At least it says so TunnelBears website… When you sign up for a subscription, however, you can only pay with credit cards immediately, so maybe honey and BTC payments are stored somewhere?

  TunnelBear test

  TunnelBear was tested with the free subscription. It should be completely identical to the payment subscription with the one difference being that you are limited to max. 500 MB of data per month.

  In the test, I tested:

  • Client software ease of use
  • Internet speeds connected to servers respectively. Denmark and the United States
  • About P2P (BitTorrent) works
  • Whether access is available Netflix USA
  • Whether you get 1GB extra data if you tweet about it TunnelBear

  The test was performed on a PC with Windows 10.

  TunnelBear test: Installation and user interface ✔

  The installation went like a breeze; I downloaded and opened an installation file, followed the instructions and in a very short time I was up and running. After installation, you log in with your username and password.

  The user interface is simple and “fun”. TunnelBear diligently uses their mascot bear and it is a rather humorous feature.

  

  The look is reminiscent of most others VPN-tjenesters; one can select server locations on a world map and then one can open an interface for settings / configuration. Moreover, server location can also be selected from a drop-down menu, if you are more like that.

  It is all very simple and you can only choose the country. There are no options in relation to cities, a particular type of server or the like.

  Most people will probably think that there is not much to consider. Conversely, some countries such as The US is large and there can be a big difference in the speed of a connection near e.g. New York or Los Angeles.

  From the list you can also choose to just connect to the fastest server no matter where it is located in the world. In my case, it was – funny enough – in Denmark.

  Clicking on the gear opens the settings, where there is not much to choose from either. There is little to open TunnelBear when the computer is started and the like.

  

  The most advanced is “TCP override”, which from the description can be tried if the connection is unstable. It is also under settings that you turn on VigilantBear (killswitch) and GhostBear. Killswitch would probably like to be turned on.

  Overall, I like the simple user interface.

  TunnelBear test: Speed ✔

  Encryption is resource-intensive and therefore it can cost something to use VPN. On powerful VPNservers, the loss will be minimal and conversely, a significant drop in the speed of resource-poor servers may be experienced.

  The relative loss will depend on how fast one’s own internet connection is. On relatively slow connections (

  I did speed tests on connections for two VPNservers; One in Denmark and one in the United States. In both cases, the test was performed with speedtest.net.

  

• 

Left: Result of speed test connected to TunnelBear VPN server in Denmark. Right: Result connected to server in USA.

On both connections the speed reached just over 300 Mbit, which is an excellent result. With that speed you can stream video in 4K without any problems.

Upload, on the other hand, is relative in both cases, although I should be able to upload at 100 Mbit / s. The response time (ping) is also nice. without VPN it was at 16 ms on the same speedtest server, so the loss of using VPN is minimal.

TunnelBear test: P2P ✔

P2P was tested by download Ubuntu, which is a free version of the Linux operating system. At first I was disappointed because it didn’t work and there is nothing about file sharing / P2P on the website.

Therefore, it was obvious to think that maybe P2P was blocked, because it has to be TunnelBear in the old days”. I tried searching for “P2P” in the help section of the website and here I found that file sharing only works on certain servers.

Torrents only work on the servers in: Canada, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Germany and the USA. On the others, P2P is blocked and does not work.

TunnelBear test: DNS leak ✔

Despite one VPNconnection, you may risk that your IP address is leaked anyway by DNS lookup. DNS leak allows your ISP to register which websites etc. you have visited. VPNproviders can protect against DNS leak by also redirecting queries to DNS.

For example, a DNS leak tested on dnsleaktest.com, which displays the IP address of one’s DNS server. TunnelBear was tested with connection to a Danish VPNserver and it was found that the IP address of the DNS server used also belonged TunnelBear, so there is no danger of DNS leak.

TunnelBear test: Netflix USA X

Unfortunately, that was blocked Netflix USA

TunnelBear test: Conclusion ✔

TunnelBear is an absolute recommendation VPNservice that will fully meet the needs of most people. The user interface is simple and intuitive, and is not contaminated by all the technical possibilities no one needs.

There aren’t as many servers to choose from, but the ones that are will be enough for most, but of course there will be someone in need of servers in locations where TunnelBear is not. Servers in Denmark are a big plus for Danish users.

It is very positive that TunnelBear using open-source encryption protocols exclusively. Although you probably don’t have to look over your shoulder for NSA, etc., it is very nice to be absolutely sure that no one can follow.

The speed is also really nice and 300 Mbit / s should be plenty for most. At least that’s more than enough to stream 4K.

P2P works and DNS leaks are controlled, so here too, there is something to look for. In addition to Netflix The US did not work, there is actually nothing really to come after.

TunnelBear VPN Review (2022)

A Canadian-based VPN provider, TunnelBear offers some fairly solid services.

They lack some of the advanced features boasted by other companies, but their basic offerings generally are good enough for users who are just getting familiar with the world of VPNs.

Unfortunately, their services did not perform particularly well in speed testing , a fact which is likely to deter more sophisticated users. The company does offer a “free” plan, and this gives potential customers a good opportunity to take the service for a test run before committing themselves.

Ryan Dochuk and Daniel Kaldor founded TunnelBear in 2011. Both have extensive backgrounds in technology startups, which gives them the necessary knowledge and experience to offer a decent VPN service. In some ways, they succeeded.

TunnelBear is notable for its consistent theming. The bear graphics and terminology (one of their packages is known as the “Grizzly”) are surprisingly likable without getting tiresome.

Accordingly, TunnelBear’s interface is pretty fun to look at and fairly user-friendly when compared with the offerings of other companies that tend to complicate matters or provide a more sterile workspace. Even people who have not used a VPN before likely will be able to navigate the configurations and getting connected with little difficulty.

Recently, TunnelBear was acquired by well-known US cybersecurity provider McAfee. The company has their headquarters in Toronto, and this combination of a US owner and a Canadian headquarters may raise a red flag to many potential VPN customers.

How could a Toronto-based company possibly be an issue for Canadians? Let me explain…

This is because both Canada and the US are both members of the Five Eyes network, an international security alliance that also includes the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Member nations of the Five Eyes readily share information with each other.

Much of this information is acquired by surveillance and other espionage-type activities carried out by agents of one member country working within another. This allows them to circumvent any local laws that would ordinarily prevent governments from spying on their own citizens without due process.

Each of these nations has passed laws about data retention, requiring certain companies, like VPN providers, to keep records about what their customers do online. In the midst of an investigation, they may request these records from the VPN provider.

Since the whole point of getting a VPN is to maintain privacy and the online anonymity that goes with it, it follows that customers would not want their VPN provider to maintain any kind of comprehensive data concerning what they do in the online world.

With a US owner and Canadian headquarters, it’s clear that TunnelBear is legally required to maintain more records than a VPN provider that is headquartered in a country that is outside of the major surveillance networks. If total privacy is your goal, then TunnelBear is not the VPN provider for you.

TunnelBear Overview

Security and Encryption

TunnelBear does a decent job of keeping customers safe, secure and anonymous in the online world. OpenVPN protocol is available to all customers running Mac, Windows and Android devices. Those running iOS use IPSec/IKEv2. Linux users are out of luck thus far with TunnelBear. Perhaps Linux devices will be added to the company’s lineup at a later date.

Both protocols that TunnelBear uses are industry standard, meaning that they provide the best in security that is currently available. More sophisticated users may be troubled by the lack of other options, but with OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2 both on offer, most people should be satisfied.

Additionally, TunnelBear employs AES 256-bit encryption. This encryption method is used by military and government organizations the world over, so it is certainly reliable for personal use.

TunnelBear offers further features that are designed to protect customers while they are online. One of these is a kill switch. Essentially, this feature discontinues a browsing session whenever the VPN service unexpectedly becomes unavailable.

VPN services that do not have this feature leave you vulnerable to prying eyes. However, users should not overlook the fact that TunnelBear’s kill switch is not a default feature. It must be turned on in order to operate.

Like some of the more sophisticated VPN providers, TunnelBear offers an additional obfuscation feature for those users who are vigilant about hiding their online activities. This is a particularly useful and necessary feature for people living under repressive governments that strictly limit Internet access and levy hefty penalties for those who defy these limits. This feature can be turned on in the security settings. It is available only to people running Windows, Mac OS and Android.

It’s great that TunnelBear makes these additional security features available to users. However, so do other VPN providers that offer better speed and performance at a reasonable price, like Surfshark.

TunnelBear’s Server Locations

This is an area in which TunnelBear needs to focus more of their efforts. Currently, they boast servers in 20 countries. Many of the major players are represented such as Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, India and Singapore.

In fact, they cover western Europe and North America pretty well, but other regions show a lack of servers. Brazil is the only South American country to make the list, and there is no representation in Africa or the Middle East.

Still, people living in places where TunnelBear does have servers will be pleased to know that the company boasts approximately 1,000 servers. This is a fairly good number, which means that users have more bandwidth to go around, and this should translate to better data transfer rates. When compared with the best VPN providers out there, TunnelBear’s offerings look pretty slim.

If TunnelBear had better location diversity, you’d be better able to spoof your location. It would also improve your chances of finding a server that is pretty close to where you are, which should deliver faster upload and download speeds.

Anyone living outside of North America, Europe or parts of Asia would probably do better to look elsewhere for a VPN. For instance, NordVPN has over 5,000 servers spread out in almost 100 countries.

Using BitTorrent or P2P with TunnelBear

People who checked out TunnelBear a while ago and decided against signing up for the service may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the company has modified their stance on torrents and P2P file sharing. While these activities were previously forbidden by TunnelBear, they are now allowed.

However, in their policies, the company makes it clear that breaching copyright laws remains a forbidden activity for users of their services. If you primarily go online to share files or download torrents, then it may be wise to check out our VPN reviews to see which service providers have servers purposely-built for these activities.

Another piece of good news is that TunnelBear is now compatible with TOR. The Onion Router gives users yet another layer of security in the online world. Previously, it was not possible to use TOR and TunnelBear together, and this modification is a welcome one for those who are vigilant about privacy.

Also, if you’re really hoping that a VPN will make it possible for you to enjoy Netflix, then you should look elsewhere. Netflix is seriously upping their game when it comes to blocking users who are streaming via VPN. Testing revealed that watching Netflix while TunnelBear is active is virtually impossible .

TunnelBear’s Speed Test Results

Data transfer speed tests with TunnelBear yielded disappointing results . It is commonly understood that using any VPN is bound to slow down web traffic a bit. However, some of the top VPNs seem to hardly affect data transfer rates at all. This is not the case with TunnelBear.

When logging on to a server in New York City, testing gave results of 33.38 Mbps for downloads and 15.04 Mbps for uploads. That’s hardly impressive. In fact, if your web traffic speeds were consistently that slow, you’d spend your online life in perpetual frustration.

Things were only slightly better when connecting to the server in Amsterdam. Downloads of 52.26 Mbps and 27.20 Mbps still aren’t up there with high-quality VPNs.

Connecting to a server in London gave slightly slower results. An average download of 50.10 Mbps and an average upload of 48.36 Mbps don’t exactly give TunnelBear any kind of bragging rights.

However, the most dismal performance came out of the server in Hong Kong. With download speeds of just 7.54 Mbps and upload speeds of a plodding 2.63 Mbps, it would take days to perform ordinary online tasks.

If you demand excellent data transfer rates when you’re online, then you should go with a different VPN provider.

TunnelBear’s Logging Policy

Like many VPN providers, Tunnel Bear advertises a “no logging” policy. However, with a US owner and Canadian headquarters, this can’t possibly be true. Reading the company’s privacy policy reveals that the company is probably keeping track of far more data than many users would like.

TunnelBear’s privacy policy and log keeping standards are not particularly egregious. They clearly state that the company does not maintain records of which IP addresses visit their website or even the IP addresses that users visit while on the service.

DNS queries similarly are private. Online services, websites or apps that customers access while connected to the VPN are not recorded by TunnelBear.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that they do keep records concerning the personal information of each user. This includes the operating system used by the customer as well as their name, email address and the last four digits of the credit card they use for billing purposes. Records concerning how much data is used by individual customers also are maintained.

All in all, that’s quite a bit of information stored in one place . TunnelBear probably has adequate security, but if you’re really sensitive about guarding your personal information, you might want to consider a VPN service that allows you to remain completely anonymous and offers the ability to pay with an anonymous method like gift cards.

Pricing Options for TunnelBear

Unlike many other VPN companies, TunnelBear will let you experience their services for free. In fact, if you only feel the need to protect your online security for some of your activities, then the “Little” package, which costs nothing, may work out well for you.

Keep in mind that you only get 500 Mb of data per month on this plan. For most users, that’s just not enough data to keep them going. So be sure to test out the free plan first before getting all grizzly.

People who want to pay on a monthly basis may choose the “Giant” plan. For $9.99 per month, they get unlimited data. However, TunnelBear notes that their most popular plan is the Grizzly. This package requires that you pay for one year of service in advance. The price works out to be just five dollars per month, which isn’t a bad deal if you’re satisfied with your data transfer rates and the security that TunnelBear provides.

TunnelBear doesn’t offer quite as many payment options as other VPN providers. In addition to most of the major credit cards, they also accept Bitcoin. You cannot pay with retail gift cards as you can with some of the bigger providers.

Is TunnelBear Recommended?

TunnelBear’s agonizingly slow data transfer rates mean that it is not a recommended VPN service . In addition, their server network remains a bit of a disappointment as many areas of the world that really need reliable VPN service is not represented at all. This limited network further makes it difficult for users to adequately spoof their location.

It is nice that TunnelBear lets you try their service for free. However, it simply doesn’t have the powerful server network and the speed of data transfer that is offered by competitors like Surfshark or NordVPN . If you’re determined to get the best performance out of your system, then it’s vital that you go with a top VPN provider.

You Might Also Like:

• TunnelBear Overview
• Security And Encryption
• TunnelBear’s Server Locations
• Using BitTorrent Or P2P With TunnelBear
• TunnelBear’s Speed Test Results
• TunnelBear’s Logging Policy
• Pricing Options For TunnelBear
• Is TunnelBear Recommended?

TunnelBear Review 2023

Good for VPN beginners who spend little time with configuration menus.

TunnelBear is a secure VPN service with sufficient performance. Thanks to its clear user interface, it is particularly suitable for beginners.

Rank #10 / 63

Our TunnelBear score

• Features

Streaming Access

Overall Rating 8 / 10

1. Table of Contents
2. TunnelBear Review Overview
3. TunnelBear VPN Review: Latest News and Updates
4. TunnelBear Background & History
5. TunnelBear Features
6. TunnelBear Cost: Plans & Value for Money
7. Apps & Support
8. Servers & Server Locations
9. Speeds & Performance Testing
10. Streaming & Torrenting
11. TunnelBear Security: Encryption & Protocols
12. Privacy & Logs
13. Customer Support & Service
14. Ease of Use
15. Bottom Line: Do I Recommend TunnelBear?
16. TunnelBear Alternatives

Last update: April 7, 2023

Quick Answer: Is TunnelBear worth it?

TunnelBear’s free version is too limited to do much with, but its paid plans are affordable and provide fast download speeds and a great interface for beginners. You can try its premium plan for free with its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Before we dig into this TunnelBear review, let’s start with the bear in the room. TunnelBear VPN is best known for two things: offering a free plan to all users and its freaking adorable mascot.

The mascot is beyond reproach. It’s a bear that digs holes. Only the most cold-hearted miser could possibly object to it. But what about the free plan, and what about everything else?

Best TunnelBear alternative

Overall Rating 9.5 / 10

Overall Rating 9.2 / 10

Overall Rating 9.1 / 10

Overall Rating 8.8 / 10

Overall Rating 8.7 / 10

As you’ll learn in my TunnelBear VPN review, the free version is not all it’s cracked up to be, but there are reasons this ursine VPN app might be the one for you. Read on to learn whether TunnelBear bears a second look or bearly makes the cut.

Is TunnelBear a good VPN?

Yes, but it’s not a great VPN. It has many great points, like its user interface and download speeds, but they’re offset by problems like its lack of router support or protocol choice.

Is TunnelBear illegal?

TunnelBear, and all other VPNs, are legal in modern democracies. Only repressive governments ban them, including Turkey, Belarus and North Korea. However, VPN bans are hard to enforce, especially against foreigners.

Which is better: TunnelBear or NordVPN?

NordVPN is better. It has more features than TunnelBear, as well as superior speeds and a better ability to unblock streaming sites. The only area where TunnelBear wins is price.

Does TunnelBear hide your IP address?

Yes, it hides IP addresses. Tests using ipleak.org proved that TunnelBear keeps you anonymous while you’re online.

Free VPN Provider

Overall Rating 8 / 10

TunnelBear Review Overview

Overall Rating 8 / 10

• Great download speeds
• Cheap subscriptions
• User-friendly interface
• Gets into Netflix, Amazon Prime Video & HBO Max
• Kill switch
• Undergoes annual independent security audits

• Inconsistent upload speeds & latency
• Can’t choose your own protocol
• Can’t be installed on a router
• Doesn’t unblock Hulu, Disney+ or BBC iPlayer
• Split tunneling only on Android

How Good Is TunnelBear?

TunnelBear is a middle-of-the-road VPN service. It has good download speeds, a clean user interface and fair pricing, but it doesn’t offer users a lot of control. Plus, it’s inconsistent at unblocking streaming services and upload speeds and latency have issues.

TunnelBear VPN Review: Latest News and Updates

This section is where we’ll share any explosive developments about TunnelBear you need to know. In general, this isn’t a VPN service that makes headlines. Its most recent news story is from June 2021, when it submitted a complaint to the Canadian government about ISPs and web services blocking sites to enforce copyright law.

TunnelBear Background & History

Where did this bear come from, anyway? Let’s find out together.

What Is TunnelBear?

TunnelBear is a virtual private network (VPN) that creates an encrypted “tunnel” you can use to browse safely online. Your IP address, personal information and browsing habits are encrypted when you connect to a VPN server and don’t decrypt until they reach the intended recipient.

Who Owns TunnelBear?

TunnelBear is owned by McAfee, which acquired it in 2018.

For some of you, this might be where you stop reading, but I maintain the hate for McAfee Antivirus is overblown. Sure, it’s a bulky program that slows down a lot of PCs, and it’s aggressively hard to uninstall, and the free version spams you with ads, and it misses a lot of viruses, and maybe the founder killed a guy.

Here’s why I don’t think any of that matters: McAfee Antivirus, for all its faults, is at least a genuine piece of security software. It’s backed by a team that wants to keep you safe from viruses and malware — unlike some VPN parent companies that are more interested in creating the malware (cough cough Kape Technologies cough).

Furthermore, the McAfee acquisition didn’t change anything about TunnelBear. There wasn’t even a cursory redesign. For now, it seems that McAfee plans to stay in the background and let its VPN provider work.

Where Is TunnelBear Located?

TunnelBear is based in Canada, a jurisdiction with reasonably good privacy laws (and a much better one working its way through Parliament). Although Canada is part of the Five Eyes agreement, I no longer believe that means anything. Five Eyes just means the countries agree to share intelligence with each other, and they can’t share intelligence they don’t have.

How Safe Is TunnelBear?

It’s very safe, from the perspectives of both security and privacy. For security, it uses the reliable OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols with AES-256 encryption. For privacy, it’s got a sincere no-logging policy that it doesn’t appear to have broken yet.

How Has TunnelBear Changed Over Time?

TunnelBear was founded in 2011, and has done pretty much the same thing ever since: desktop and mobile apps with a limited free plan and paid subscriptions. In 2014, the company began offering its full service for free to countries whose governments censored the internet, such as Venezuela, Iran, Turkey and Uganda.

TunnelBear Features

TunnelBear isn’t bursting at the seams with features, but I don’t get the sense that it’s trying to be. This VPN service doesn’t aspire to be a massive security buffet. It’s only interested in doing a few things well.

Before we start, it’s important to note that all of TunnelBear’s features, including all its server locations, are available on the free plan. The only limit is the amount of traffic permitted — 500MB per month without paying.

Basic Features

You can only do two things from the main window of TunnelBear’s VPN app: connect and disconnect. You can find servers by scrolling through the dropdown menu or clicking and dragging the map.

There’s no search feature, which makes it difficult to browse, but the server list isn’t that long. If you’re not sure where to connect, you can have TunnelBear pick the fastest available server for you.

Everything else is accessed through the Preferences menu.

Advanced Features

On the control panel, you can program TunnelBear with a few basic — and I do mean basic — commands.

You can choose whether TunnelBear launches when you log in, toggle how it appears on your desktop, and determine what kind of notifications it sends. This is also the place to activate TCP, a slower but more secure version of the OpenVPN protocol (see “Security & Protocols” for details).

VigilantBear is TunnelBear’s version of a kill switch. It keeps you from broadcasting without protection by immediately shutting down your internet if the VPN connection drops. A kill switch is a basic requirement for VPNs in 2021, so I’m pleased to see TunnelBear hitting that mark.

If you check the box for auto-connect on the Trusted Network page, TunnelBear will automatically connect to a VPN server any time your computer is online. However, if you list a network as “trusted,” TunnelBear won’t connect by itself, even if the box is checked. You’ll still be able to connect manually, though.

Finally, the “Account” tab takes you to manage your account page on tunnelbear.com.

I should mention that TunnelBear offers split tunneling (which it calls SplitBear), but it’s only available on Android. This feature lets you route some apps through the VPN service, while others go unprotected. There’s also a feature called GhostBear, which I’ll talk more about in the next section.

What Is TunnelBear GhostBear?

GhostBear is a feature that makes TunnelBear safer to use on networks patrolled by repressive governments or organizations. While GhostBear is active, it won’t appear that you’re using a VPN.

Governments that persecute people who use VPN services examine the metadata on every connection that passes through a server they own. If it suggests a VPN is present, they can throttle that connection, send it to useless websites, or even arrest the person who owns the IP address.

GhostBear uses obfuscation to scramble the metadata so it looks like ordinary, unprotected web traffic. It’s especially effective against the Great Firewall of China. Note, however, that it’s not available on iOS.

Nothing beats Chinese censorship 100% of the time. TunnelBear is a great VPN choice for traveling in China on a budget, but I strongly recommend downloading at least two other VPN services before you go.

TunnelBear Features:

• 5 simultaneous connections per account
• Free plan
• Kill switch (VigilantBear)
• Obfuscation (GhostBear)
• Split tunneling (SplitBear), but only on Android
• Browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Opera)
• Launch on startup
• Trusted WiFi networks

TunnelBear Cost: Plans & Value for Money

TunnelBear is best known for its free plan, but that might not be the best way for you to access it. The paid plan is a good value for what it offers, and it’s a lot less limiting. Whether or not you decide to pay, here’s the TunnelBear pricing breakdown.

Breaking Down TunnelBear Pricing & Plans

The Free plan is free and has no hidden fees. It caps your data at 500MB per month. Given that I used about 250MB just testing TunnelBear, this probably won’t be sufficient for your needs. That’s by design, since the Free version is meant to be more of a free trial. At least you can use all TunnelBear servers, which means you can get IP addresses for all those country locations.

The Unlimited plan costs $3.33 per month and includes unlimited traffic and bandwidth, five simultaneous connections and “priority customer service,” whatever that means. There’s no way to save money by subscribing for a longer time.

That said, $3.33 is about the best month-to-month price in the VPN world, so if you’re hesitant about committing to a service, TunnelBear is attractive.

The Teams plan is for businesses that want to protect a team’s internet connections through TunnelBear. For $5.75 per user per month, you get five connections per seat, an account manager and a centralized bill.

Payment options include credit cards and bitcoin (no support for PayPal or for other cryptocurrencies).

How to Get TunnelBear for Free

To use the TunnelBear Free version, just go to the TunnelBear website, make an account, download the app, log in, and start using it. There’s no need to provide a credit card number or anything else.

TunnelBear Pricing Deals

There aren’t any special deals available, but we’ll update this section if any come up (check back around Black Friday and Cyber Monday).

Apps & Support

TunnelBear isn’t as versatile as other VPN services. It’s not available on routers, smart TVs, game consoles or any device that isn’t a computer, but that doesn’t mean everyone is out of luck.

What Devices Work With TunnelBear?

There are TunnelBear apps for each of the following platforms:

• Desktop: macOS and Windows
• Mobile: Android and iOS
• Browser Extensions: Firefox and Chrome (plus the other Chromium browsers, Edge and Opera)

Servers & Server Locations

A VPN’s server network determines how many people can use it to its full potential. The closer you are to a server, the faster it runs. The total number of servers is also important: the more servers a VPN service has, the more user demand the VPN client can handle without slowing down.

How Many Servers Does TunnelBear Have?

TunnelBear has about 3,000 servers in its network. That’s a pretty good number, so most of its locations will rarely be burdened with too many users.

Where Are TunnelBear VPN Servers Located?

This is where TunnelBear’s network loses points. It only has servers in 46 countries, and they’re not distributed well. There are five locations in South America, which is great, but only two in Africa, and zero in the Middle East and Central Asia.

The silver lining is TunnelBear is committed to using virtual servers as little as possible. That means a server location has a good chance of actually being where the VPN claims it is.

Speeds & Performance Testing

As always, I used Ookla’s speedtest.net to check how much TunnelBear impacts internet speeds. Starting with the fastest server, I tested increasingly distant servers until I got to the other side of the world. You can see my results in the table below.

How Fast Is TunnelBear?

TunnelBear doesn’t specify where in each country the servers are located, so unlike in my other VPN reviews, I won’t be listing cities for each test.

Here’s what I looked for:

• A ping that increases linearly, not exponentially. The ping measures latency, which is the time it takes data packets to travel between servers. Going far away always increases latency, but good VPN infrastructure can keep it from rising too fast.
• Download speed that decreases as little as possible, ideally less than 25% from one server to another. It takes about 5 Mbps to stream HD video, so I also checked whether servers dipped below that level.
• Upload speed that stays consistent. Upload speed is always slower, but it’s also less affected by connecting via VPN. In the best VPNs, it barely changes until you’re thousands of miles from your real location.

Here’s how TunnelBear did:

Pings grew at a relatively stable rate, but by the time I got to Eastern Europe, latency was getting a lot higher than I would have liked. The fastest server also gave me 2.5x the latency, which shows why it’s a problem for TunnelBear to only have one server per country — there’s a lot of fluctuation within the United States alone.

Download speeds were a pleasant surprise. The last time I reviewed TunnelBear, these were all over the place. This time, I saw no sizable drops until India, and even that was above the 5 Mbps I needed for streaming.

Upload speeds started falling behind quickly, but never dropped off a cliff. TunnelBear is a good VPN for Facebook posting and video chatting within your hemisphere, but if your connection needs to cross the ocean, look for another service.

What does this mean in the end? TunnelBear is best for online activities that require good download speed: surfing pages, streaming video, torrenting, etc. It’s not as good (but still decent) for gaming, chatting and activities that depend on two-way exchange.

Streaming & Torrenting

TunnelBear’s download speeds are fast enough for streaming high-quality video, but that’s not the only obstacle a VPN needs to surmount before you can watch Netflix with it. Streaming services block VPN clients so people can’t watch copyrighted content in other countries. Only some VPN providers manage to get around the blocks.

Can TunnelBear Unblock Netflix or Other Streaming Sites?

TunnelBear’s record at unlocking streaming sites is 50-50. It unblocked Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max, but it failed to unblock Hulu, BBC iPlayer and Disney+. If you need to stream movies on Hulu, check out the best VPN for Hulu guide.

It’s a shame that TunnelBear isn’t better at unblocking streaming platforms, since its speeds are excellent for video. Still, three out of six isn’t nothing. If your current TV addiction is on Netflix, HBO Max or Amazon Prime Video, TunnelBear is a solid VPN choice.

Is TunnelBear Good for Torrenting?

TunnelBear has a fraught relationship with torrenting. In its home country of Canada, it’s illegal to download copyrighted material. For a while, TunnelBear blocked all P2P file sharing in order to comply.

I couldn’t find a record of when it stopped doing that, but there is now a note on the website claiming that TunnelBear allows P2P torrents. I’d say it’s safe for the time being, and the speeds are fast enough to make it work. Just be careful what you choose to download.

TunnelBear Security: Encryption & Protocols

As I covered above, TunnelBear was purchased by McAfee in 2018. Though this didn’t appear to change much, and though lots of people love to complain about McAfee, I consider this a good development. TunnelBear’s team has a lot more firepower it can use to detect and avoid security risks.

What bread-and-butter security options does TunnelBear VPN offer, though? Not many. No matter what platform you’re on, TunnelBear doesn’t let you choose your protocols.

Android and macOS users only get access to OpenVPN. On Windows and iOS, TunnelBear also supports IKEv2, but users don’t get to choose which to use. The VPN will automatically connect via whatever protocol is faster.

The only choice you get to make for yourself is whether to run OpenVPN over TCP or UDP. UDP is faster than TCP, but it’s less secure and often gets caught in security nets — like the blockers employed by Netflix and other streaming platforms. If you find yourself getting stuck repeatedly, flip the “TCP override” switch and try again.

Being stuck with OpenVPN isn’t as bad as it sounds. It’s the best non-exclusive VPN protocol, and it’ll hold that title until WireGuard has another year or two to prove itself. TunnelBear uses strong encryption ciphers for OpenVPN and IKEv2.

While it’s annoying that TunnelBear doesn’t support WireGuard and offers little security choice, at least the options you do get are secure and reliable.

Is TunnelBear Safe?

TunnelBear has never been involved in a serious security breach. Starting in 2018, it has undergone a voluntary annual audit by German cybersecurity firm Cure53. In 2021, Cure53 discovered five security flaws, only one of which it considered high-risk — and it was an easy fix.

I tested several TunnelBear servers using ipleak.org and they all hide my IP address. TunnelBear isn’t all that flexible, but it’s safe.

Privacy & Logs

TunnelBear’s privacy policy is mostly straightforward. The first section explains what data it collects and why. The second explains how the company stores and uses that data.

According to the policy, TunnelBear may save the following information:

• User account data (email address, free or paid user status)
• User Twitter handles (but only if they participate in the 1GB promotion)
• Operational data (what version of the app you’re using, platforms associated with your account, data used on the Free plan)
• Payment information (cardholder name, date of the transaction, billing address, expiration date, last four digits of your credit card number)
• Marketing data (cookies that track what you do on TunnelBear’s website only)

Frankly, the Twitter bonus is the sketchiest part. If you can connect a VPN user to a Twitter account, you can get a hold of reams of personal data. There’s no evidence that TunnelBear has taken advantage of this, so I won’t don my tinfoil hat just yet — but I’m keeping it close.

Other than that, I’m confident that none of the data TunnelBear retains is outside the norm.

TunnelBear stores personal information on Canadian soil, making it subject to PIPEDA. While not as strong as the European Union’s GDPR law, PIPEDA is substantially better than data policy in the continental United States.

Does TunnelBear Keep Logs?

No. It’s impossible to know for sure whether a VPN provider is keeping user activity laws in secret, but there’s no evidence that TunnelBear has broken its own no-logging policy.

Customer Support & Service

TunnelBear’s customer support is as friendly as you’d expect, but it’s also thorough and information-rich. I’d have preferred to see a live chat support option, but I can’t complain too much.

TunnelBear links to its customer support help page from the desktop app, but you can also browse it directly. The help page organizes its articles into five categories.

I appreciate that the knowledgebase doesn’t link to the same articles from multiple pages, saving it from becoming a confusing snarl. Instead, each category is divided into subcategories, most of which make intuitive sense.

The articles are well-written and surprisingly informative, especially in the “troubleshooting” section. TunnelBear doesn’t talk down to users who want to fix things themselves.

Those who don’t want to rely on written articles for customer support have two other options. First, there’s Rawr2-D2, the chatbot bear. It’s good at directing you to the right articles, but it’s no substitute for live chat with a real person. To talk with Rawr2-D2, click the live chat button at the bottom right of any customer support help page.

You can also email a support ticket and get a response from customer support within 24 hours. The support personnel are patient and provide reliable, expert knowledge. The only minor drawback is you have to click through a menu of general topics first, which feels like being forced through an automated phone menu.

How to Contact TunnelBear

Click on Contact Us (the bear wearing a headset) on the main knowledgebase page or go directly there with this link.

Ease of Use

TunnelBear is one of the most user-friendly VPNs on the market. With so few features, there are hardly any failure points. It’s the VPN tradeoff: you can have lots of options or be easy to use, but not both.

Of course, industry leaders like ExpressVPN prove it doesn’t have to be one or the other. TunnelBear made the choice, though, and it chose user-friendliness.

Connect to a server by scrolling to it on the map or selecting it from the dropdown menu. That’s it. On the Preferences menu, you don’t need to do anything except check and uncheck boxes. TunnelBear is so easy to use it’s on the verge of being one of the simple machines: the lever, the pulley, the inclined plane and the bear-themed VPN.

Bottom Line: Do I Recommend TunnelBear?

There are some VPNs I love to love. They constantly surprise me with the ways they make my online life easier (see the next section for three of them). Then there are VPNs I love to hate, because they’re terrible in consistently inventive ways.

TunnelBear is neither. It’s solidly in the middle of the pack. There are more reasons to recommend it than reasons to skip it, though, so I’d have to say I recommend it.

Choose TunnelBear if:

• You need good speeds for a low price
• You want to stream shows from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or HBO Max
• You’re looking for a VPN that’s easy to use

You can always head to the TunnelBear website to try the free plan’s full features before committing to the monthly or annual plans.

Avoid TunnelBear if:

• You’re looking for a free plan you can use long term
• You like to choose your VPN protocol and control your security
• You want to stream shows from Hulu, Disney+ or BBC iPlayer
• You live in Africa, Southwest Asia or Central Asia

TunnelBear Alternatives

If you meet any of the “avoid TunnelBear” criteria, check out one of these VPN options instead.

ExpressVPN is faster than TunnelBear, and its upload speeds and pings are a lot more stable. It also has a user-friendly interface that’s easy on newcomers. Check out ExpressVPN’s pricing here, or read my full ExpressVPN review for more information.

NordVPN is my favorite VPN that isn’t owned by a conglomerate. It’s fast, secure and affordable. Check out NordVPN’s pricing here, or read my full NordVPN review for more information.

Surfshark offers better pricing deals than TunnelBear, and its speeds are usually superior to boot. It also comes with more features out of the box. Check out Surfshark’s pricing here, or read my full Surfshark review for more information.

Overall Rating 9.5 / 10

ExpressVPN is an easy-to-use and highly secure VPN, but pricey.

• Extremely fast & easy to use
• Servers in 94 countries
• Kill switch, split tunneling & no logs
• Unblocks all major streaming services
• Excellent security record