logo
logo
Sign in

TunnelBear VPN Review 2020

avatar
rajesh kumar
TunnelBear VPN Review 2020

TunnelBear is a Canadian VPN provider offering a cross-platform client backed by a capable network of 900 servers in 23 countries.

TunnelBear’s pricing is fair, with a free trial that gets you 500MB of knowledge each month, and therefore the additional 5GB for spreading the word about the provider. If you would like a VPN for a really limited time each month, you’ll grapple with a free account.

It’s not the biggest server coverage on the market, but their VPN provides acceptable speeds and high-end privacy for an affordable price. If you’re after easy use and no-hassle experience, you only might find TunnelBear a perfect solution for the instant.


Best VPN for

1. Netflix, Hulu, and streaming online
2. Torrenting and downloading
3. Security and privacy

TunnelBear Pricing

1. Free

This plan is the best plan for testing purposes with limited usage.

TunnelBear Pricing

Features

  • 500MB of secure browsing
  1. Unlimited ($3.33/mo)

This plan is best for all-day security.

Features

  • Unlimited secure browsing
  • 5 connected devices
  • Priority customer service
  1. Teams ($5.75/mo)

This plan is best for businesses securing 2+ users

Features

  • Unlimited secure browsing
  • 5 connected devices per user
  • Dedicated account manager
  • Centralized team billing and management

TunnelBear Features

VPNs will be complicated, loaded with cyber jargon and intimidating technicalities. But it’s not the case with TunnelBear, where every feature is translated into layman terms. The functionality and customization are slated toward the beginners.

Signing up requires your email, but that’s about it – you don’t must submit more identifying details. Overall, you’re up and running during a matter of seconds.

The desktop app may be a breeze to use and comes with plenty of toon-style eye-candy. It’s almost as if it absolutely was made for teenagers. One moment your bear is within the honey pot in your country but hit connect and it digs a tunnel to resurface someplace else. The ultimate accord is that the bear roar signaling you’re connected.

Usability is excellent with its client. The map, locations list, and also the settings are as straightforward and self-explanatory as they will get.

You can run TunnelBear on Win, Mac, Android, and iOS – the mobile apps are native and mirror the desktop UI but with fewer settings. They even have browser extensions for Chrome and Opera.

Some settings include an issue mark that takes you to the TunnelBear website, explaining the gist of the feature within the plain language. Their support is ticket-based, so expect some delay if you wish direct assistance.

TunnelBear settings specialize in fundamentals. They deploy OpenVPN by default and 256-bit encryption, but there’s no breakdown of technicalities or ways to tweak them.

Aside from the auto-start behavior, you’ll be able to only toggle two security settings here – VigilantBear and GhostBear. The primary blocks all traffic while the VPN connects and disconnects. The second adds a layer of scrambling to let your traffic look more like regular Internet data for extra security.

TunnelBear explains if the VPN gets the work dodged the GhostBear enabled, leave it disabled because the additional scrambling may reduce your speeds. That’s understandable because the more security tweaks you enable, the slower is that the speed. See the US servers’ download speeds without so with GhostBear enabled:
Trusted Networks is another setting you’ll tweak to white-list Wi-Fi networks you trust. If enabled, this toggle will launch the VPN once you connect with a network that’s not on your trusted list.

That’s it. No-kill switch, NAT firewall, DNS leak protection, or other nifty bells and whistles. I won’t blame you if you discover it limiting, but if you’re after ultimate simplicity TunnelBear is your thing.

On the brilliant side, the VPN allows up to 5 simultaneous connections within the paid plans, which is simply about enough if you’re anything like me and have multiple devices for multitasking.

  • Stop password and data theft
  • Access global content
  • Bypass local censorship
  • Protect your online privacy
  • Prevent IP-based tracking
  • And way, way more

Tests

TunnelBear VPN comes with 23 server locations and 900 servers. You can’t choose a server, however, because the app only lists locations. Unavoidably, speeds tend to drop if you hook up with servers located in distant regions, and TunnelBear isn’t proof against the effect.

TunnelBear performs on par with many other VPNs within the way that the speed drops are within an affordable margin. The speed test before connecting to their VPN showed:

while the US servers performed with a specific decrease in download speed:
But the united kingdom server speed was somewhat of a disappointment:

Unfortunately, further tests detected my DNS was leaking, which beats the aim of running a VPN. Even with the GhostBear feature enabled, DNS was still leaking:
IPv6 and WebRTC tests found no leaks: You should know well before you commit that TunnelBear doesn’t allow illegal torrenting. Prefer it or not, Canada has strict copyright laws. The Netflix VPN police didn’t let me in, but the BBC iPlayer got successfully unblocked. This is often excellent news apart from the sub-optimal UK server speeds.

Pros:

  1. Strong encryption and no activity logs
    2. Five simultaneous connections
    3. Unblocks BBC iPlayer
    4. Cross-platform with native mobile apps
    5. Sleek, intuitive client
    6. Transparent ToS and Privacy Policy
    7. 900 servers in 23 locations
    8. Same-continent servers offer reasonable speedsCons:
  2. DNS leaks
    2. No-kill switch
    3. Long-distance servers are slow
    4. No refunds
    5. Based in Canada
    6. Ticket-based support

Privacy and Security

TunnelBear’s Privacy Policy and ToS are light reading without obscure legal speak. They keep no activity logs. No session data, websites you visit, DNS queries, or assigned IPs. They do keep your email and your forename, plus the entireamount of knowledgeconsumed per month, and the OS version of your hardware. I appreciate how the provider has the breakdown of each piece of knowledge they collect and the way they use it. Few VPNs try this.I haven’t found anything in their PP and ToS to point the finger at, but be warned they’re headquartered in Canada, so you won’t be using their VPN for torrenting.Final Thoughts
TunnelBear may be a good place to start if you’re a newcomer to the VPNs. It’s intuitive, straightforward, and most reliable. It’s certainly on the affordable end, and therefore the free plan may be a great no-strings-attached thanks to testing the service. Their Privacy Policy is transparent, and security is watertight with OpenVPN and 256-bit encryption. Speeds vary greatly supported server distance from your location, however, but the free trial can help clear your doubts. Let’s hope the DNS leak issue gets addressed because it’s a significant turn off if you wish anonymity.

collect
0
avatar
rajesh kumar
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more