TunnelBear is an average VPN option in the market. The premium version is fast, secure, and excellent in unblocking streaming sites in the US. Due to a good logging policy, this VPN offers reliable security. But the free version does not unblock Netflix and the speed result will question you to ask for better VPN service. Let’s explore all the key details in this detailed TunnelBear Review.
Quick Summary: TunnelBear Review
Ranked no #26 in out of 55 VPNs
It’s time to forget complicated applications and let the Tunnel Bear VPN encrypts your web traffic. With edgy graphics, this VPN is the best for encrypting web traffic. Its easy to use and protrect your data easily from hackers and snoopers.
The bright side of the VPN is the free version of the TunnelBear. The free plan won’t offer you much data to use for weeks, its barely for a day or two.
TunnelBear Review : Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Free plan is available to use | Smart DNS feature is not functional in many cases |
| Fast and secure connection to protect your data | No Live chat support |
| No IP and DNS leaks | Canadian Jurisdiction (Five Eyes) |
| User-friendly applications | No kill switch on iOS |
| Clear terms and service | Not recommended at all for torrenting |
| Easy to setup and use | No money back guarantee at all |
| Premium version unblocks Us Netflix and other streaming sites | Can be slow at times |
| No identifiable data logs |
Who should get TunnelBear?
Access TunnelBear if :
- You want to give it a try to VPN for free. It’s a good option with the same server location as the free version.
- You haven’t used a VPN before, then TunnelBear is a safe, free, and secure option.
- You want VPN for gaming on your mobile device, then with its low ping and high speed, you can efficiently use it for gaming purposes.
Avoid TunnelBear if :
- You want free VPN for everyday use. It only gives 500 MB data allowance that is oo less for everyday use.
- You regularly watch Amazon Prime and Hulu, then TunnelBear found it hard to unblock streaming sites in the US.
- You want extreme privacy, then TunnelBear has confirmed the transfer of account information to the higher authorities, so its not a good option.
TunnelBear Key Details
To have a deeper understanding, we have summarized the key details of TunnelBear in the form of table in this Tunnelbear review.
| Premium Version | Free Version | |
| Data Cap | Unlimited | 500 MB |
| Speed | 95 Mbps | 96 Mbps |
| Servers | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Data Leaks | Yes | No |
| Logging Policy | No Logs | No Logs |
| Jurisdiction | Canada (Five Eyes Member) | Canada (Five Eyes Member) |
| IP addresses | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Countries | 47 | 47 |
| Torrenting | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Support | Email and online resources | Email and online resources |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 | 5 |
| Works in China | Not reliable | Not reliable |
| US Netflix | Yes | No |
TunnelBear Review : Key Features
TunnelBear offers moderate number of features to enhance your data privacy and overall security. Lets have a quick look at all these features in this TunnelBear review :
| Key Features | Works with TunnelBear VPN |
| Tunnel Bear blocker | Yes |
| Kill switch | Yes |
| Split Tunneling | Yes, but for Windows and Android |
| Netflix | Yes in premium version |
| Torrent | Not reliable |
| GhostBear | Yes |
| DNS feature | Yes, but for some countries |
Is TunnelBear a safe option?
TunnelBear is a safe and secure option when it comes to encryption methods. To keep your connection secure, it uses standard encryption protocols. Business location is the most important concern for people as Canada is not considered among the countries with strict privacy measures.
Encryption Protocols
TunnelBear uses the standard encryption with an SHA-256 hash for authentication. Even the US government has lately highlighted the use of algorithms for information classification. This means that your information will remain secure and no one will spy to check your online activity.
There are a lot of tunneling protocols for you to give a try. But for this, you should be an iOS user. Only the option to switch between protocols are available for a few operating systems. Lets have a look at its protocol details in this TunnelBear review.
| Protocol | Operating System |
| WireGuard | Windows, iOs |
| IKEv2 | Windows, iOs |
| OpenVPN | Android ,macOS |
| IPsec | iOS |
When you pick a protocol, test the others to see what works best for you. The less tech savy may praise this automation, but manually picking the protocols is a hard task.
VigilantBear
The unique aspect of the TunnelBear VPN is the Vigilant bear. They have called their kill switch feature as vigilant bear. When the connection between the device and the VPN service interrupts, it acts as a moderator to protect privacy during those moments.
VigilantBear puts the internet connection on hold while it waits for the VPN server to connect. This feature enables you to efficiently mask the IP address and location of your ISP. If this feature is unavailable, then someone can easily track your information. Currently, this feature is not available on all operating systems. It is included only for Windows, macOS, and Android applications with no information regarding the availability on iOs.
The disconnection or disruption notifications are switched off by default. And in case, Vigilant Bear is triggered, you won’t get any notifications. If the notification is activated while the connection is trying to resolve itself, then problems may arise with other network components that are working great.
TunnelBear logging policy is reasonable
TunnelBear does not monitor your web activity, but it is not a zero-log VPN. It collects your account information, which is standard for almost all VPN services. It also logs the amount of bandwidth you use monthly and also deletes it on monthly basis. But previously Tunnel Bear has worked with the US government, to confirm the account details and handed other identifiable data to the higher authorities.
| Data type | Logged by TunnelBear VPN |
| Browsing data | No |
| Device information | Yes |
| DNS queries | No |
| Individual Connection Timestamps | No |
| ISP | No |
| Individual bandwidth usage | Yes |
| Number of simultaneous connections | No |
| VPN Server IP | No |
| VPN Server Location | No |
| Account Information | Yes |
| Date of Last Connection | No |
The VPN provider claims to collect some information with their own official website and other with some non-personal sites that are connected with the application. As they have stated in their policy that they will collect the following information that includes:
- Your email address
- OS version
- Total data used in month
- Twitter Id if you opted for a special promo
- Cardholder details
Card number and other billing information is also collected through third- party application like Paypal, Stripe, and many more. TunnelBear doesn’t accept crypto payments for better anonymity.
TunnelBear Free and Premium versions are fast
As TunnelBear offers a range of protocols to choose from, so it is comparatively faster than other VPN services in a similar price range. TunnelBear’s international speed is surprisingly faster than it’s expected. Its speed is tested across several locations in this TunnelBear review:
| Server Location | No VPN (New York) | US(New York) | US (Los Angeles) | Canada (Toronto) | UK(London) | Germany (Berlin) | Brazil (Sao Paulo) | Japan (Tokyo) | Australia (Sydney) |
| Download Speed | 100Mbps | 95Mbps | 90 Mbps | 95 Mbps | 87 Mbps | 87 Mbps | 92 Mbps | 82Mbps | 81 Mbps |
| Upload Speed | 100 Mbps | 92 Mbps | 85 Mbps | 93 Mbps | 95 Mbps | 74 Mbps | 32 Mbps | 69 Mbps | 75 Mbps |
| Ping | 1ms | 6 ms | 73 ms | 24 ms | 87 ms | 91 ms | 113 ms | 426 ms | 214 ms |
| Distance | 0 mi | 5mi | 25,00 mi | 300 mi | 35,00 mi | 4,000 mi | 4,800 mi | 6,700mi | 9,900 mi |
Low Ping time for excellent gaming experience
When connected to the local Vpn server, the ping time is below 6ms, which is good for free service. Occasional disconnects from the TunnelBear server while gaming is improved a lot in all these years.
Although the speed is exceptional, TunnelBear free version only offers 500 MB of monthly data which is too less for gaming.
TunnelBear works well with US Netflix , HBO and other streaming sites
Anything that is free of cost does not offer you a full-fledged package of services. Same is the case with TunnelBear, its premium version circumvents geo-restrictions and efficiently unblocks popular streaming platforms. Apart from US Netflix, it is enabled to unblock Netflix Libraries or Amazon Prime videos. The free version with limited access failed to unblock streaming sites outside the United Kingdom. Lets have a look at the streaming access offered by TunnelBear in free and premium version in this TunnelBear review.
| Streaming Platform | TunnelBear Free | TunnelBear Premium |
| Netflix | No | Yes |
| Hulu | No | No |
| All 4 | Yes | Yes |
| HBO Max | No | Yes |
| Hotstar India | No | No |
| Amazon Prime Video | No | No |
| Disney+ | No | Yes |
| BBC iPlayer | No | Yes |
| YouTube | No | Yes |
| ITVX | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube | Yes | Yes |
Tunnel Bear unblocks HBO and Disney+
Although the premium version also works with handful of other US streaming services but works best for Disney+ and HBO. We can easily manage to stream geo-restricted content on Disney+, HBO Max and all other streaming platforms.
TunnelBear is unreliable for torrenting
Unfortunately, Tunnel Bear’s free and premium versions are not good for torrenting. The VPN service claims to provide torrenting service, but the speed is too slow to download movies and shows. The jurisdiction based in Canada implements strict copyright laws, but the application comes with a kill switch feature but no port forwarding.
The unavailability of a port forwarding option becomes the key reason for decreasing the uploading and downloading speed. If you are going to purchase VPN specifically for torrenting thean Private Internt Acess (PIA) is the viable option.
TunnelBear VPN Plan and Pricing
TunnelBear is one of the budget-friendly VPN options. The free subscription tier restricts you to a bare minimum of 500MB of data for the month, but it’s a good option to give this VPN a try. You can surprisingly earn data limit upto 1.5GB for a month. The pricing of different plans are listed in this TunnelBear review:
| Plan | Price |
| Free Plan | $0.00 |
| 1-year Plan | $4.99/month |
| 2-year Plan | $4.17/month |
| 3-year Plan | $3.33/month |
The cheapest option among all the plans is the free plan. However, it’s the most basic one with lots of restrictions. To experience the full-fledge features of TunnelBear, you have to invest in the premium version.
TunnelBear is suitable for beginners
TunnelBear’s design is simple and the application is quite simple to use. TunnelBear’s features are not advanced, which is good for beginners but not for experts. The VPN application lacked various functionalities for expert VPN users.
It is easy to install TunnelBear on Android and iOs devices. You can easily download the application and create a free account using your email and password. Therefore, you can easily use TunnelBear for free.
TunnelBear servers and Locations
TunnelBear offers 3000 servers that in 47 countries and the overall the global coverage is pretty decent that are listed in this TunnelBear review.
| Continent | Number of countries |
| Europe | 28 |
| Asia and Oceania | 9 |
| Africa | 3 |
| America | 8 |
While considering the number of servers, this Vpn Provider cannot compete with top-level options like SurfShark and NordVPN. However, the basic options for the servers are available.
TunnelBear’s Customer Support
Tunnelbear’s customer support s awful. Firstly, you have to be a subscriber to get any sort of help. Overall online support is not available through various forums.
| Customer Support | Available in TunnelBear VPN |
| 24/7 live chat support | No |
| 24/7 Email support | No |
| Chatbot | No |
| Email support via online form | No |
| Yes | |
| Tutorial Videos | No |
| Online Resources | Yes |
For a VPN that potentially targets beginners, the unavailability of customer support is miserable. Many premium VPNs offer 24/7 live chat support for all users.
Is TunnelBear worth getting?
Tunnel Bear is a well-designed VPN, especially for beginners. It’s a great choice for people who want to explore the VPN option to hide their IP address and are efficient for gaming. At $3.33 per month, Tunnel Bear’s subscription does not offer the best value for money.