Is it safe and easy to use?
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TunnelBear has excellent security features, Very easy to use apps (with cute bears all around), And very fast speeds for smooth browsing, uninterrupted streaming and gaming. TunnelBear is constantly able to access popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and BBC iPlayer, and it works in countries that restrict internet access, like China and Iran.
In addition to industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and a kill switch, TunnelBear also has:
- split tunneling;
- Torrenting on all servers.
- jamming.
- And more…
I really like TunnelBear, but it has a few drawbacks – it’s not transparent about the number of servers it’s running, it doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee, and it doesn’t have 24/7 live chat. I’d also like to see TunnelBear add split tunneling to its Windows and Mac apps and also include WireGuard for selecting protocols (WireGuard is the fastest protocol out there).
TunnelBear has an affordable one-month, one-year, and three-year payment plan, a corporate plan, and a decent free plan that’s good for product testing.
| overall rank | #6 out of 55 VPN |
| 🌍 Servers | Anonymous |
| 📱 Number of devices | 5 |
| 💸 Starting price | |
| 🎁 Free Plan | Yes |
| 💰 MONEY BACK GUARANTEE | number |
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TunnelBear Full Review
I spent two weeks researching and testing TunnelBear to see if it had good security, fast speeds, and easy to use apps. I have also compared TunnelBear to other best VPNs on the market to see if they are a good value.
TunnelBear’s website and apps are filled with cute animated teddy bears and puns. But don’t mistake TunnelBear’s lightweight approach to design for a lack of seriousness when it comes to security, privacy, or performance.
TunnelBear is one of the most transparent VPN providers in terms of privacy, comes with top-notch security features, and performs a comprehensive independent audit every year. You don’t get a lot of extra features, but TunnelBear is very intuitive, easy to use, and fun, which makes it perfect for people new to VPNs.
TunnelBear Features
TunnelBear has the following standard VPN security features:
- 256-bit AES encryption. This type of encryption is used by militaries and government agencies around the world, and is one of the best encryption methods available (TunnelBear refers to 256-bit AES as Grizzly-grade encryption).
- No-logs policy. TunnelBear does not store any of your personal data (websites you visit, files you download, your IP addresses). TunnelBear provides an easy to understand and transparent privacy policy.
- kill switch. This feature (called VigilantBear) stops internet access if your VPN connection accidentally drops, and automatically reconnects to the server as soon as TunnelBear finds an internet connection (preventing any potential traffic and data leaks).
TunnelBear includes two Internet protocols, OpenVPN and IKEv2. I like the way TunnelBear automatically chooses which protocol is best for your connection, but oddly enough, it doesn’t tell you which protocol you’re using (and there’s no way to know) – OpenVPN and IKEv2 are available on iOS, Android, and Windows, but Mac users only have IKEv2. While OpenVPN and IKEv2 are reliable protocols, I hope TunnelBear will eventually offer WireGuard, which is a bit faster than both.
I also love that TunnelBear has its own encrypted DNS servers to prevent DNS leaks, as well as built-in WebRTC and IPv6 leak protection. Unlike VyprVPN which has no WebRTC protection and requires you to manually disable IPv6 traffic on your device, TunnelBear handles everything in the background so you don’t have to take any action to protect your devices from leaks.
TunnelBear also supports The Onion Router (Tor) on most of its servers All you have to do is connect to the TunnelBear server and start using the Tor network. When you connect to a TunnelBear server to browse the Tor network, TunnelBear keeps your IP address hidden from other Tor users (including the entry node) – if your IP address is leaked, Tor users will only be able to see the VPN’s IP address, not Your truth. TunnelBear’s Tor support is pretty good, but I’d rather use ProtonVPN a bit, as it allows you to browse the Tor network within regular browsers like Chrome and Opera.
TunnelBear also has a few extra features.
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SplitBear
SplitBear lets you choose which apps you want to route through the VPN tunnel and which apps are routed through your local network. TunnelBear’s split-tunneling tool is pretty good, and it fared great in my tests – but keep in mind that it’s only available for Android.
To test SplitBear, I connected to a US server to download a large file and routed Disney+ through my ISP. SplitBear allowed me to maintain fast torrenting speeds and watch my favorite Disney+ TV shows and movies without interruption.
TunnelBear’s SplitBear app is very similar to the features of ExpressVPN and CyberGhost VPN, which also allow you to redirect apps only. But my favorite VPN for split tunneling is ProtonVPN because it also allows you to exclude web browsers and IP addresses from the VPN tunnel.
Overall, SplitBear is useful for redirecting apps from a VPN tunnel – it’s easy to use and worked great during tests. However, I would like to see TunnelBear add split tunneling to Windows (it’s very rare to find a VPN with split tunneling on a Mac, and no VPN with this feature on iOS).
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Jamming (GhostBear)
GhostBear is a TunnelBear hide tool that hides your VPN connection from prying eyes, Like your ISP, which makes it look like you are browsing the internet without being connected to TunnelBear server.
GhostBear is great for bypassing internet firewalls in restricted countries, such as China and Iran.
But note that using GhostBear will slow down your internet speed a bit as it adds extra encryption. In my tests, websites took an extra 5 seconds to load and Netflix content lags a bit. While TunnelBear’s obfuscator is able to maintain decent speeds, I prefer ExpressVPN’s obfuscation, as it is significantly faster.
Overall, I really like the GhostBear feature of TunnelBear. It is reliable to get around VPN blocks, it is very easy to use, and it has very fast speeds.
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Password manager (RememBear)
RememBear is a free password manager that is easy to use and allows unlimited passwords on a single device. While RememBear is undoubtedly nice, there are many better free password managers out there on the market, including LastPass, Avira Password Manager, and RoboForm.
RememBear secures all your passwords with AES 256-bit encryption, has been independently audited, and includes a decent password generator as well as good autosave and autofill functions. There’s also an Achievements section that teaches you how to use RememBear – you earn a cute teddy bear every time you unlock an achievement, like adding a credit card, creating a strong master password, or sharing the product with friends.
Upgrade to RememBear excellent Adds multi-device sync as well as cloud backup, But there are no extra features like password sharing, password auditing, or dark web monitoring, all of which are included in the big competitors like Dashlane, 1Password, and Keeper.
Overall, RememBear is simple, safe and full of adorable bears. It’s a good choice for users who are looking for a simple password manager with basic functionality – but if you’re looking for a full-featured product to manage all your logins and other sensitive information, I recommend taking a look at our list of the best password managers in 2021.
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TunnelBear Privacy and Security
TunnelBear has one of the most straightforward and transparent no-logs policies out there. I love how TunnelBear explains their privacy policy in easy-to-understand terms rather than complex and ambiguous language like most other VPNs – TunnelBear has charts showing the data it collects and an explanation of why it collects data. TunnelBear claims to strive to collect the minimum information required to operate its service – it stores only your email address (to contact you) and payment information (to process refunds and prevent fraud).
TunnelBear has also conducted an independent audit every year since 2017 for vulnerabilities in its codewear, infrastructure, website and applications, and has published the results of each audit on its website.
To back up its no-logs policy, TunnelBear also releases an annual transparency report (like CyberGhost VPN) that shows how often government or law enforcement agencies have requested user data and how often TunnelBear complies with the requests (None). Headquartered in the United States, TunnelBear is part of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (intelligence-sharing agreement between different countries). But if the US government requests user data, TunnelBear will not have any data to hand because the VPN does not store user data.
Overall, TunnelBear has a transparent and strict no-logs policy that has been audited multiple times and an easy to understand privacy policy. TunnelBear also backs up their no-logs policy with a transparency report released each year.
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TunnelBear Speed and Performance
Speed tests have been conducted in all 45+ countries where TunnelBear has a server to determine the average internet speed of VPN. The average drop in download speed from baseline speed was about 42%, which is pretty good – Maintained good speeds for browsing, streaming, VoIP calls, and torrenting on most servers.
I started my tests by setting my base speed while connected to my local network:
Next, I used TunnelBear’s speed dial A tool to connect to the fastest server, and TunnelBear connected me to a server in New York. Download speed decreased by 10%, which is very good for local VPN server. My online activities were barely affected – I surfed the internet, streamed content on Netflix, and made a call with Zoom for two hours without a glitch.
Then I tested a server in Germany and my download speed was actually faster in Europe than in the US! The drop in my speeds was only a tiny 5%, and I surfed the web, played video games, and downloaded files as if I wasn’t connected to a VPN.
Finally, I connected to a server in Australia (one of the servers farthest from my location). TunnelBear reduced my speed by 80%, which greatly affected my online experience. Websites took 5-7 seconds to load, TV shows and movies took 10 seconds to start, but I had no interruptions or buffering once the videos started.
Overall, in my speed tests on all TunnelBear servers, the VPN had really fast speeds on local (US) servers, as well as on servers located in Central and South America and Europe. I’ve only experienced much slower speeds connected to very remote servers in Australia and New Zealand.
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TunnelBear Servers and IP Addresses
TunnelBear has servers in over 45 countries. The number of countries is less than a large number of top VPNs like HMA (200+), ExpressVPN (90+), CyberGhost VPN (90+), and Private Internet Access (78), but TunnelBear does a pretty good job of deploying server locations worldwide, so most users can either connect to a server in their own country or one relatively nearby (for better speeds).
TunnelBear does not publicly publish the number of servers located worldwide. When I contacted TunnelBear support via email, a TunnelBear representative said the provider adds and removes servers as needed (on demand). Because of the constant fluctuation, the delegate said…
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