TunnelBear VPN: A review
[Presented by BestCloudBest.com]
Are you trying to protect your privacy and security while browsing the Internet? You need a “Virtual Private Network” (VPN). Since many VPNs operate in a crowded market, you could find it hard to choose one. Here, we review TunnelBear, a Canada-based VPN that’s owned and operated by TunnelBear LLC.
VPNs claim to provide privacy, security, access to geo-restricted content, secure access to P2P/torrenting services, speed, compatibility, and customer support. They claim to offer these for an attractive price. Does reality match these claims? Not always!
We have evaluated TunnelBear using all of the above criteria. Does it deliver what it promises and does it meet your requirements? Read on, to find out whether you should buy a TunnelBear VPN subscription.
The main features of TunnelBear VPN
Let’s evaluate the features that TunnelBear offers.
Is your data in good hands with TunnelBear?
Most VPN users consider privacy as an important factor, and you probably do that too. You should look for a VPN that masks your IP address, encrypts your Internet traffic, and refrains from logging your activities on the Internet.
TunnelBear successfully masks your IP address and encrypts your traffic. This VPN doesn’t log your online activities. It states in its privacy policy that it doesn’t log the IP address of users visiting its website. It doesn’t log the IP addresses upon service connection.
This VPN doesn’t track the DNS queries, apps used by its VPN users, websites visited by users, etc. TunnelBear doesn’t store any information that can tie a VPN user with his/her activities online. We found that TunnelBear has an effective “no logs” policy.
When you buy a TunnelBear subscription, this VPN collects your email address and whether you have confirmed your email address. It tracks whether a user is a paid user and the expiry date of the subscription period. TunnelBear collects this information to provide its products and services.
We find that TunnelBear collects a reasonable amount of personal data. Users can enter their Twitter ID as a part of the TunnelBear Twitter promotion, however, that’s optional.
TunnelBear collects some amount of operational data such as the OS version of the users’ device, the TunnelBear app version, and the data used by a user in a month, etc. This VPN collects this information for troubleshooting and infrastructure planning purposes. This doesn’t amount to logging the online activities of VPN users, and we don’t see any privacy concerns.
TunnelBear collects some payment information like the last 4 digits of the credit card number. It uses PCI-compliant 3rd party payment providers, and it can get information like the card billing address from these providers. TunnelBear uses this information for credit card fraud prevention. We found no privacy risks concerning this.
This VPN collects website analytics information when you visit its website. This is anonymized and aggregate information, and we don’t see any privacy concerns. In any case, this information doesn’t mean the logging of VPN users’ online activities.
TunnelBear doesn’t sell, rent, or transfer your personal data to 3rd parties. This VPN secures your personal information and processes it per applicable laws.
TunnelBear is subject to the jurisdiction of Canada. This country is part of the “5 Eyes” coalition of countries that conduct mass surveillance. Canada isn’t ideal for a privacy-focused VPN. However, TunnelBear doesn’t keep any logs. This mitigates any privacy risks.
We are satisfied with the privacy features of TunnelBear. This VPN has implemented an effective “no logs” policy.
About the network security of TunnelBear
Many Internet users look for a VPN since they want a secure browsing experience. A VPN that uses secure VPN protocols, encrypts the Internet traffic, prevents data leaks, and offers advanced security features can provide that security.
TunnelBear supports OpenVPN, which is the most secure VPN protocol. It supports this for Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS. This VPN provider supports the IKEv2 VPN protocol for Windows and iOS, and this is a secure protocol too.
TunnelBear offers AES-256 encryption, which is the strongest that you can find. This VPN uses SHA256 for data authentication. For Windows and iOS, this VPN uses the 2048-bit DH group. It uses the 4096-bit and 3072-bit DH groups for Android and Mac, respectively. In summary, TunnelBear offers the strongest encryption that you can get.
TunnelBear prevents all IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks. This VPN offers a “vigilant mode” feature, which is essentially a “kill switch”. If your VPN connection terminates suddenly, then this feature will block your Internet connection immediately. This prevents hackers from accessing your sensitive data even if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly.
TunnelBear offers a blocker for ads and trackers, and you can use it with the Chrome extension of TunnelBear. This VPN offers a feature called “GhostBear”. It disguises the use of a VPN and evades technologies like “Deep Packet Inspection” (DPI). Countries like China use DPI to identify and block VPNs. Thanks to the GhostBear feature, TunnelBear can bypass this kind of censorship.
TunnelBear has twice subjected its infrastructure and software to independent security audits. Cure53, an information security firm has audited the security solutions implemented by TunnelBear. TunnelBear has confirmed that it has addressed all of the findings of this independent audit.
We find that TunnelBear offers both basic and advanced security features. If you prioritize security, then TunnelBear is a good choice.
Where are the servers of TunnelBear located?
VPN users want good speed along with privacy and security. A VPN can offer good speed if it has enough servers in all key geographies and invests in high-quality server infrastructure. TunnelBear has over 350 servers, and it has a presence in 23 countries.
This VPN has its presence in the following geographies:
· North America: USA, Canada, and Mexico;
· Europe: UK, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Germany, France, and Switzerland;
· Latin America: Brazil;
· Asia: Japan, India, Hong Kong, and Singapore;
· Oceania: Australia and New Zealand.
TunnelBear doesn’t have a presence in Africa. It has a smaller network compared to several leading VPNs. However, TunnelBear invests in high-quality server infrastructure. This VPN offers good speed.
What platforms can you use TunnelBear on?
You want a VPN that supports all the different kinds of devices that you have. TunnelBear supports Windows and Mac among desktops, and it provides easy-to-use custom apps for both.
This VPN doesn’t offer a custom app for Linux, however, it provides instructions on how to use TunnelBear on Linux. TunnelBear uses OpenVPN for this, and it explains how to configure a VPN connection on Linux Ubuntu. The company says that it provides only limited support for Linux.
TunnelBear supports Android and iOS among mobile platforms, and it offers custom apps for both. This VPN has browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. You can connect 5 devices simultaneously using 1 VPN subscription.
TunnelBear doesn’t support routers. You can’t use this VPN with Kindle or other eBook readers, moreover, it doesn’t support smart TVs and gaming consoles. TunnelBear doesn’t support Windows phones either. Since this VPN doesn’t support routers, you can’t bypass the limit of 5 simultaneous connections.
While TunnelBear supports most of the key platforms and provides custom apps for many of them, it doesn’t support routers. If compatibility with a wide range of platforms is your priority, then you should explore other leading VPNs.
Can TunnelBear VPN unblock streaming services?
TunnelBear states on its website that it unblocks geo-restricted content, however, the company doesn’t state anything more. Many Internet users buy a VPN subscription since they want to access geo-restricted streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, etc. However, these popular streaming services know that and they aggressively block VPNs. As a result, many VPNs can’t unblock these streaming services.
TunnelBear can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. It can unblock HBO GO. If you want a VPN that can consistently unblock all popular geo-restricted streaming services, then you should explore other leading VPNs.
Does TunnelBear VPN allow for torrenting?
If you plan to access P2P/torrenting services, then we recommend you take appropriate care. We say this due to the following reasons:
· Several countries have banned P2P/torrenting services.
· Even if a country allows these services, you can inadvertently get into copyrights-related issues.
· Cyber-attackers monitor P2P/torrenting services and launch attacks on users of these services.
· Your ISP might throttle your Internet connection as soon as it detects that you are accessing a P2P/torrenting service.
In addition to complying with relevant laws, you should use a VPN to securely access P2P/torrenting services. Such a VPN shouldn’t keep logs. It should mask your IP address, encrypt your Internet traffic, and provide a kill switch.
TunnelBear meets all of these criteria. It allows P2P/torrenting, and this VPN doesn’t impose any bandwidth restrictions. Its speed helps too. If you want to securely access P2P/torrenting services, then TunnelBear is a very good choice.
Bypassing Internet censorship with TunnelBear
Countries like China impose stringent Internet censorship. Many Internet users try to bypass this censorship by using a VPN. However, the governments in these countries know this. They aggressively identify and block VPNs. Quite a few VPNs can’t bypass the “Great Firewall” of China. The Chinese government uses a technology called “Deep Packer Inspection” (DPI) to identify VPN traffic.
TunnelBear offers a feature called “GhostBear”. This feature disguises Internet traffic and hides the use of a VPN. It can bypass the “Great Firewall” of China.
What is the cost of TunnelBear VPN?
You want a VPN that offers value for money. TunnelBear offers two pricing plans, which are as follows:
· “Unlimited”: This plan costs you $3.33 per month.
· “Teams”: This plan is for businesses and it allows more than 2 users. In this plan, TunnelBear charges $5.75 per user per month.
TunnelBear offers a free plan, which has limitations. This free plan offers 500 MB of data transmission in a month.
You can pay for a TunnelBear subscription using popular credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. TunnelBear also accepts payments using Bitcoin, which offers a relatively anonymous mode of payment. This VPN provides a secure payment process.
Apart from the free plan, TunnelBear doesn’t offer a free trial for its paid plans. This VPN doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee. It might consider refund requests on a case-by-case basis, and issue a refund at its sole discretion.
While TunnelBear doesn’t offer some features that several leading VPNs offer, its price is competitive. It doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee, which is a drawback compared to other leading VPNs.
The pros and cons of TunnelBear VPN
We now examine the pros and cons of TunnelBear VPN. This VPN offers the following advantages:
· It protects your privacy by following an effective “no logs” policy.
· TunnelBear provides excellent security features including secure protocols, robust encryption, kill switch, and protection against data leaks.
· This VPN provides a blocker for ads and trackers, and you can use it with its Chrome browser extension.
· TunnelBear has 350+ servers in 23 countries, and it offers good speed.
· This VPN allows secure access to P2P/torrenting services.
· It supports key platforms like Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. This VPN supports Linux Ubuntu.
· This VPN allows 5 simultaneous connections.
· TunnelBear offers user-friendly custom apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
· This VPN can bypass the “Great Firewall” of China.
· TunnelBear offers excellent documentation and good customer support.
· This VPN is priced competitively.
TunnelBear has a few limitations, which are as follows:
· Among Linux distros, TunnelBear supports only Ubuntu, and it doesn’t offer a custom app.
· This VPN doesn’t support routers, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and Windows phones.
· TunnelBear can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.
· This VPN doesn’t offer a 24x7 live chat support with human customer support representatives.
· TunnelBear doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee.
For privacy and security-focused users, the advantages of TunnelBear outweigh its disadvantages.
A few quick facts about TunnelBear VPN
We now summarize a few quick facts about TunnelBear, which are as follows:
· TunnelBear is a Canada-based VPN, and it follows an effective “no logs” policy.
· This VPN provides excellent security features including AES-256 encryption and a kill switch.
· TunnelBear offers good speed, thanks to 350+ servers in 23 countries.
· This VPN can’t unblock Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer, however, it can unblock HBO GO.
· TunnelBear allows secure access to P2P/torrenting services.
· This VPN supports all Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS, and it supports Linux Ubuntu. TunnelBear doesn’t support routers, smart TVs, and gaming consoles.
· This VPN allows 5 simultaneous connections.
· TunnelBear offers ticket-based customer support, however, it doesn’t offer 24x7 live chat support by human customer support representatives.
· TunnelBear offers a free plan with 500 MB/month data transmission limits.
· This VPN doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee.
Is TunnelBear user friendly?
You want a user-friendly VPN. TunnelBear understands that, and you can sense that as soon as you visit its website. You will find the TunnelBear website very easy to navigate. It prominently displays all key menu options and “Call To Action” (CTA) buttons. The cute images of bears make the website very attractive too!
You can find sufficient information on the TunnelBear website including its pricing, security solutions, guides, VPN apps, etc. This VPN provides an easy-to-use buying process, which involves only a few intuitive steps. You can register for its free VPN easily, and you can easily install its VPN apps.
The TunnelBear custom VPN apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS are easy to use. These apps provide simple and user-friendly user interfaces. TunnelBear offers a stable and reliable VPN connection. We find that TunnelBear is a very user-friendly VPN.
Is the customer service at TunnelBear VPN any good?
You want great customer support when you buy a VPN. We now examine the customer support capabilities of TunnelBear.
The TunnelBear website has a very well-organized “Help” page. It provides a searchable knowledgebase with detailed articles, and the articles are informative.
The support page provides getting-started and troubleshooting guides. It covers both technical and administrative topics.
The TunnelBear website has a chat function. It uses a chatbot, which can guide you to relevant articles in the TunnelBear knowledgebase. TunnelBear doesn’t provide live chat support by human customer support representatives.
You can contact its customer support team by opening a ticket. The TunnelBear customer support team is prompt, responsive, knowledgeable, and professional.
We find that TunnelBear has good customer support capabilities and excellent documentation. It doesn’t provide 24x7 live chat support by human customer support representatives, however, its leading competitors do that.
What's the jurisdiction of TunnelBear?
TunnelBear LLC, a Toronto, Canada-based company owns and operates TunnelBear. This VPN is subject to the jurisdiction of Canada. Privacy-enthusiasts might not like a VPN subject to the jurisdiction of Canada since this country is a part of the “5 Eyes” coalition. The countries that have formed this coalition conducts mass surveillance.
However, TunnelBear doesn’t log the online activities of its users. It can’t relate the online activities of a user to his/her personal information. This mitigates privacy risks.
Does TunnelBear keep any logs of your activity?
TunnelBear doesn’t log the online activities of its VPN users. This VPN doesn’t log originating IP addresses and IP addresses assigned to VPN users. It doesn’t track the websites visited by VPN users. TunnelBear doesn’t log the apps used by VPN users or their DNS queries.
This VPN collects some data for the purpose of troubleshooting and infrastructure planning. This includes the OS version of the users’ device, the TunnelBear app version, the data transmitted by a user in a month, etc. This doesn’t amount to logging the online activities of users.
TunnelBear doesn’t log any information that can tie a users’ online activities to the identity of the user. We find that TunnelBear follows an effective “no logs” policy.
Technical security and encryption of TunnelBear
TunnelBear supports secure VPN protocols. We are happy to see that it supports OpenVPN, which is the most secure VPN protocol. It also supports IKEv2 for Windows and iOS, and this VPN protocol is secure too.
TunnelBear offers AES-256 encryption, which is military-grade. It uses SHA256 for data authentication. It uses the following DH groups:
· 2048-bit for Windows and iOS;
· 3072-bit for Mac;
· 4096-bit for Android.
All of these combine to make this encryption solution the strongest that you can get.
TunnelBear prevents all IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks. Its “vigilant mode” feature is its kill switch. This feature blocks the Internet connection if the Internet connection drops suddenly, which prevents hackers from accessing your sensitive information.
TunnelBear provides an ads-and-trackers blocker for its Chrome extension. This VPN can bypass the “Great Firewall” of China. It offers the “GhostBear” feature for this, which disguises the use of a VPN. This can bypass technologies like DPI, which is used by countries like China to identify and block VPNs.
Cure53, an independent information security company has audited the security solutions implemented by TunnelBear. TunnelBear has confirmed that it has addressed all of the findings from this independent audit.
TunnelBear uses a robust set of security solutions.
The short conclusion of our review
TunnelBear promises privacy, and it delivers that with its “no logs” policy. This VPN offers robust security including secure protocols, robust encryption, and a kill switch. TunnelBear gets its security solutions audited by an independent auditor. This VPN has over 350 servers in 23 countries, and it offers good speed.
TunnelBear can’t unblock popular streaming services like Netflix. This VPN allows secure access to P2P/torrenting sites. TunnelBear supports Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, and it offers user-friendly custom apps for these platforms. It provides limited support for Linux, and it doesn’t offer a custom app for this platform. TunnelBear doesn’t support routers, smart TVs, and gaming consoles.
While TunnelBear offers excellent documentation and a searchable knowledgebase, it doesn’t offer 24x7 live chat support by human customer support representatives. This VPN offers ticket-based support.
TunnelBear offers a free plan with limitations. Its pricing plans are competitive, however, it doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee. If you want a privacy-friendly, secure, and user-friendly VPN for platforms like Windows, Android, iOS, Mac, and Linux Ubuntu, then TunnelBear is a very good choice.
