TunnelBear Review

A Secure Way to Browse, Stream, and Download

TunnelBear VPN lets you access global content regardless of where you are, bypass local censorship, and prevent IP-based tracking. You are entitled to protect your online privacy, and this VPN service will help you do it, a statement all TunnelBear reviews unanimously agree with.

Security and Privacy Features

If you are looking for a more secure way to browse the web, TunnelBear can be a great choice. By encrypting your internet connection with military-grade protocols, all your online activities will stay private, regardless of the network you use. The following security and privacy features will ensure that you will always remain safe from prying eyes.

Vigilant Mode

The TunnelBear kill switch, also known as Vigilant Mode, is the first security feature examined in our TunnelBear review. As one of the essential safety tools for any VPN service, the Vigilant Mode will ensure you stay protected even when your connection is lost, and you reconnect automatically.

This feature is only available on Windows, macOS, and Android. If you are looking for a Linux “kill switch,” you may want to compare TunnelBear vs NordVPN, with the latter being one of the top VPNs for Linux users.

Closest Tunnel

Next in our TunnelBear review is the Closest Tunnel functionality. Even though you can select your server manually, TunnelBear also offers the closest available connection. If you are unsure which one to choose or just want fast speeds and a stable connection, simply select Fastest Tunnel.

This feature is currently available only for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. So, if you are looking for more variety, we recommend looking elsewhere. For example, in the battle TunnelBear vs ExpressVPN, the second one takes the lead because of its Smart Location feature (the equivalent to Closest Tunnel) for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, and routers.

No Logging

The next feature that deserves a special mention in our TunnelBearVPN review is the vendor’s no-logs policy. Following one of the golden rules in the VPN industry, TunnelBear does not log any online activities and thus respects users’ privacy.

Note that there is some information that the company will keep about you. As explained in their Terms of Service, they collect email addresses and account statuses to operate the service smoothly. Even though TunnelBear has servers all around the globe, the research for our TunnelBear review suggests that the company doesn’t store any personal data outside of Canada’s physical borders.

Strong Encryption

There can’t be a good VPN without robust, military-grade encryption. In the case of TunnelBear VPN, you will be protected with the strongest AES 256-bit encryption currently available in the market. TunnelBear also uses OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols that will ensure your privacy and lightning-fast connection speeds.

Note that TunnelBear still does not support the WireGuard protocol. This is where we feel that TunnelBear lags behind its competitors, which TunnelBear VPN reviews agree with. That is also one of the main reasons why when users rate TunnelBear vs ProtonVPN, the second one gets a higher ranking.

GhostBear

Not only will TunnelBear VPN encrypt your data, but with the GhostBear feature, it will make all encrypted data less detectable to ISPs, governments, and businesses. Note that this is an optional feature that can also slow down your internet connection.

Torrenting

Yes, you can download torrents with TunnelBear. That said, it might not be the best VPN service for it. After the Canadian government forbade illegal downloads for a short time, TunnelBear was blocking P2P connections. According to TunnelBear VPN reviews, torrenting is now allowed, but things may change again since the company is based in Canada.

If you are looking for the best VPNs for torrenting, we recommend checking some TunnelBear’s alternatives. For example, if we compare TunnelBear vs SurfShark in this area, we recommend the former.

Speeds

For this TunnelBear review, we tested the speeds of some of the best VPN services. We discovered that even though TunnelBear is not the fastest VPN in the world, it still offers above-average results on both physically closer and farther servers.

In the TunnelBear vs Windscribe race, TunnelBear comes first. The same goes for the TunnelBear vs ProtonVPN race. Even with its free version, TunnelBear is faster than ProtonVPN. What’s more, it offers some of the most stable and reliable connections, so you will not regret choosing it, as many TunnelBear reviews confirm.

Streaming

Unfortunately, TunnelBear is not a good VPN for streaming. According to the company, it cannot find a way around restrictions made by content providers. That is why TunnelBear doesn’t offer any specialized streaming servers, which results in awfully long loading times in rare cases when streaming is possible. The TunnelBear Netflix solution doesn’t always work either. You can unblock the streaming giant in rare cases, but only if connected to a US server close to your physical location.

Most TunnelBear VPN reviews recommend using other VPN services for streaming. Thus, in comparing IPVanish vs TunnelBear, the former takes the crown as it can unblock all major streaming platforms from anywhere in the world.

Device Compatibility

TunnelBear VPN is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android. It also offers a Google Chrome extension. We tested all the available apps for the purposes of our TunnelBear VPN review, and we have to admit they work seamlessly. The TunnelBear Chrome extension especially surpassed our expectations, helping the company rank among the best VPNs for Chrome. We would also like to highlight the highly-rated TunnelBear Android app, which has received many positive reviews.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an official app for TunnelBear for Firestick. However, there is a way to download the app through a third-party service. But, we do not recommend it since it’s not native to the Amazon Store. On the other hand, you can download TunnelBear for Kodi with no issues. Our research for this TunnelBear review showed that the Kodi app works great and you can stay protected using it, making the vendor one of the top choices when it comes to the best VPNs for Kodi.

Unfortunately, TunnelBear didn’t make it on our list of the best VPNs for multiple devices as there is a limit of five simultaneous device connections. So, if you have more devices, you will have to choose only five to run.

Customer Support

TunnelBear offers speedy email support that will answer your questions and offer solutions to your problems within 24 hours. Besides its email support, TunnelBear also offers an extensive knowledge base and a smart chatbot capable of answering simple questions.

Pricing

TunnelBear offers a free version, an individual, and a team plan.

TunnelBear Free

In this section of our TunnelBear review, we will talk a bit more about the free version. Since it comes with a limit of 500MB of data per month, you can’t do much besides regular browsing sessions. However, it can also be a way for you to test the VPN service. The TunnelBear free version also offers the Closest Tunnel feature, a rarity in free VPNs, even though you can join a server manually.

TunnelBear Unlimited

When it comes to the Unlimited plan, things change drastically. Unlike the free version, you will have unlimited data per month, up to five connected devices, and access to priority customer service. TunnelBear Unlimited is priced at $3.33/month.

TunnelBear Teams

TunnelBear offers an affordable VPN service for businesses. Even if your company has only two employees, you can access unlimited data, up to five connected devices per user, a dedicated account manager, and a centralized billing and management team.

TunnelBear Teams is priced at $5.75/user/month.

Our Verdict

TunnelBear VPN has many strengths and a few weaknesses, the price being one of the former. It also offers a plethora of advanced security and privacy features for your safety. Additionally,  TunnelBear VPN has an excellent deal for teams, making it a popular VPN for businesses.

On the other hand, TunnelBear VPN might not be the best choice if you are looking for a VPN  for torrenting or streaming. Our TunnelBear review shows that the service struggles to unblock content from major streaming platforms. It is also known to block P2P connections, making it impossible to download torrents.