TunnelBear: Charming Design, Middling Performance

TunnelBear collects limited information to maintain its service: your email address, device details (OS version and app version), whether you were active in the previous month, and total data used (deleted at the end of each month).

This level of data collection is fairly standard for VPNs and can be justified, but it prevents TunnelBear from being a top-tier no-logs provider like PIA or Perfect Privacy.

TunnelBear is based in Canada, which is not ideal for user privacy. However, its logging policy means it cannot provide users’ IP addresses or browsing history, even if compelled.

TunnelBear operates its own zero-log DNS servers and does not record the websites you visit. This also ensures your ISP cannot monitor your browsing activity.

Who Owns TunnelBear?

TunnelBear was founded in 2011 by Daniel Kaldor and Ryan Dochuk. In 2018, it was acquired by the antivirus company McAfee.

The VPN still operates as a separate team within McAfee, and the same employees continued to work on the product after the acquisition.

McAfee was previously owned by Intel, but in March 2022 it was sold to several private equity firms, including Advent International and Permira.

Cooperation with Authorities to Confirm a User

In 2020, TunnelBear cooperated with U.S. authorities by confirming a user’s account via their email address. Crucially, no additional identifiable information was provided.

While it’s reassuring that TunnelBear did not share activity or connection logs, the incident underscores the drawbacks of its Canadian jurisdiction.

TunnelBear used to publish an annual transparency report detailing government requests for user data. Since the incident, it has not released further transparency reports.

As a result, it’s unclear whether the company has received additional requests for user data or confirmed more user accounts.

Subject to Canadian & US Data Laws

TunnelBear’s headquarters are in Toronto, and its current ownership also makes it subject to U.S. data laws.

Both the U.S. and Canada are core members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which enables participating countries to collect and share surveillance data.

Both jurisdictions also pursue minor copyright cases, which matters if you plan to use a VPN for torrenting.

Although TunnelBear can be subpoenaed by Canadian and U.S. authorities, its logging policy helps prevent your IP address and browsing history from being exposed.

TunnelBear Is Not Completely Private

In short, we trust TunnelBear to protect your activity logs and IP address, but you should not rely on it if you need to hide your VPN usage from authorities.

Its privacy policy is better than average. TunnelBear does not keep activity logs or identifying data, but it is not a true zero-logs VPN. Its Canadian jurisdiction, corporate ownership, and lack of a warrant canary count against it.

If you need maximum privacy, consider a strict no-logs VPN that has never confirmed a user’s identity, such as Private Internet Access (PIA).

TunnelBear is a mixed bag for streaming. Its paid plan can unblock region-restricted content on US Netflix, HBO Max, and BBC iPlayer.

However, the free version only unblocks a couple of UK services and Max. Other free VPNs are better at bypassing geo-restrictions — try Windscribe or PrivadoVPN instead.

Tested: TunnelBear Unblocks US Netflix

In our tests, TunnelBear unblocked American Netflix on nine of its 13 US servers. Most servers worked, but you may need to switch between a few if one doesn’t.

These TunnelBear server locations were immediately blocked by Netflix: Dallas, New York, San Jose, and Seattle. We couldn’t even log in with these IP addresses.

TunnelBear Unblocks Disney+ & HBO Max

TunnelBear also worked with several other US streaming platforms. We streamed geo-restricted content on Disney+, HBO Max, and YouTube.

However, we couldn’t stream Amazon Prime Video — TunnelBear was detected and blocked on multiple US servers.

TunnelBear Free Doesn’t Unblock US Streaming Platforms

In our tests, TunnelBear Free didn’t perform as well as the paid version, which is expected.

The free plan was blocked by most US streaming services, including US Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu. However, it still works with HBO Max.

It does work well with UK services, including BBC iPlayer, All 4, and ITVX.

The biggest drawback is the 2GB monthly data cap on TunnelBear Free, which won’t let you stream for long.

Despite its playful design, TunnelBear takes security seriously. This is a secure VPN—for the most part.

Both the free and paid versions use the AES-256 cipher on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

OpenVPN is used by default, and WireGuard, IPSec, and IKEv2 are also available on iOS and Windows.

Both WireGuard and OpenVPN are secure and reliable VPN protocols, though WireGuard is the current industry standard and our preferred option.

Worrying HTML5 Geolocation leaks

IP and DNS leaks can expose personal information like your IP address, physical location, and browsing activity.

Using our IP and DNS leak test tool, TunnelBear passed our IPv4/IPv6 leak tests, DNS leak test, and WebRTC test, but it failed to mask our geolocation.

We’re extremely disappointed that even when using TunnelBear’s browser extension, our HTML5 geolocation was exposed. All top-tier VPNs include leak protection or geolocation spoofing in their extensions and apps to prevent this.

Leaking HTML5 geolocation information is concerning, but it’s not as severe as leaking your IP address or DNS requests. In the worst case, it means users will be blocked by more streaming services and may struggle in regions with online censorship.

Ultimately, any kind of information leak disqualifies TunnelBear from being a top-tier VPN.

However, it’s not beyond repair, as you can deny permission for websites to collect your HTML5 geolocation.

TunnelBear Owns its Bare-Metal Servers

All TunnelBear servers are physical (bare-metal), not virtual. They are located where they claim to be.

Furthermore, TunnelBear owns its entire server network, including private DNS servers, so no third parties are involved in maintaining its servers.

Controlling your server infrastructure helps prevent security incidents. The NordVPN breach showed that relying on third-party data centers can pose significant risks.

A report by the Center for Democracy & Technology noted that each TunnelBear server uses full-disk encryption, malware scanning, and intrusion protection software.

Few VPNs own their entire server network—let alone an all bare-metal network in correct locations—which helps TunnelBear stand out among other mid-tier VPNs.

Effective VigilantBear (Kill Switch)

TunnelBear’s VPN kill switch is called “VigilantBear.” It blocks web traffic if the VPN connection gets disrupted. This prevents your true IP address from being exposed, and is an essential feature of any top-tier VPN.

TunnelBear’s VPN kill switch is called “VigilantBear.” It blocks web traffic if the VPN connection is disrupted. This prevents your true IP address from being exposed and is essential for any top-tier VPN.

VigilantBear is available on Windows, macOS, and Android, but not on iOS.

This is common due to Apple’s guidelines, but it’s still disappointing, as it’s not impossible—VPNs like PIA and NordVPN offer a kill switch on iOS.

Regular Security Audits Keep TunnelBear Safe

To demonstrate its commitment to transparency and user safety, TunnelBear has undergone multiple independent security audits.

TunnelBear commissioned cybersecurity firm Cure53 to conduct five yearly audits since 2017. These reviews examined TunnelBear’s apps, code, and infrastructure.

In 2019, Cure53 discovered 12 vulnerabilities of varying severity and helped TunnelBear fix them and strengthen its security. The audit concluded that TunnelBear is “a clear frontrunner among its VPN competitors when it comes to security.”

In 2020, there were “two low, two medium, and one high-risk vulnerability.” TunnelBear said it fixed the high-risk issue immediately.

In 2021, Cure53 found four low, nine medium, three high, and three critical vulnerabilities—many more than the year before.

Importantly, the critical issues were in TunnelBear’s admin platform. They could have let attackers hijack admin accounts to “create a new administrator and thereby fully access both the TunnelBear and PolarBear admin portal.”

Cure53 also found one unresolved low-risk vulnerability previously reported in 2018 that was still present in 2021.

While it’s commendable that TunnelBear commissions regular audits and fixes most issues quickly, we’re concerned that Cure53 continues to find more critical, high-risk, and medium-risk vulnerabilities each year.

Missing Technical Features We’d Like to See

TunnelBear lacks some security features we expect from premium VPN services. Here are features we’d like added:

TunnelBear’s server network is smaller than many competitors, though it’s still adequate for most users. Ultimately, if you want a large number of locations, we don’t recommend it.

For years, TunnelBear didn’t disclose its server count, but it eventually revealed it runs 5,000 servers across 47 countries—a solid network size.

It’s also the only top-tier free VPN that lets you access the same number of countries as the paid version. It’s the best free VPN for Singapore and the only free VPN offering Indonesian IP addresses.

However, the free version gives you access to only one server per country, which can lead to congestion and slower speeds.

TunnelBear removed its India servers after the country enacted a law requiring VPNs to log user data, and it removed its Ukraine server following the Russian invasion. We appreciate this decision, as it shows the VPN won’t share activity logs with authorities and can quickly adapt to new laws while protecting user privacy.

If you want a wide range of server locations, we don’t recommend TunnelBear. It’s not bad, but we’ve tested top VPNs with servers in over 100 countries. For example, Private Internet Access has servers in 91 countries.

City-Level Servers in the US & Canada

TunnelBear offers city-level options in the US and Canada only. By comparison, ExpressVPN provides city choices in 11 countries.

These city-level servers are an improvement, as TunnelBear previously offered no city options. However, a large country like Australia would also benefit from city-level choices.

Installation & Setup

Interface & Ease of Use

Day-to-Day Experience

TunnelBear is an extremely unreliable VPN for torrenting. We tested both the paid and free versions with qBittorrent across servers in seven countries (as recommended by TunnelBear).

In nearly every test, downloads either stalled or were slower than the average VPN.

TunnelBear averaged just 2.8 MiB/s, which is poor compared to IPVanish at 9.9 MiB/s and ExpressVPN at 9.8 MiB/s.

Although TunnelBear says torrenting is allowed on all servers, we suspect torrent traffic may be throttled or blocked on some locations. In an email, TunnelBear confirmed that certain servers “may have stricter ports for security reasons.”

Only one server and settings combination worked reliably for torrenting: a server in Sweden using the OpenVPN protocol, with VigilantBear disabled (though we recommend keeping a kill switch on whenever you torrent).

Unlike most VPNs, where the paid plan is faster, TunnelBear Free was actually 1.4 MiB/s faster for torrenting than the paid version. However, its 2GB/month data cap severely limits downloads.

To make matters worse, TunnelBear doesn’t support port forwarding on any server, which would otherwise improve upload speeds for seeding.

If you’re looking for a VPN—free or paid—for torrenting, we strongly recommend PIA or Windscribe Free instead.

TunnelBear offers native VPN apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. You can also install it manually on Linux.

Both the free and paid versions let you connect up to five devices at the same time on one subscription, which is standard for VPNs.

No Router or Games Console Support & No Fire TV Stick App

You can’t install TunnelBear on a router. There are also no apps for Amazon Fire TV Stick or Android TV, and no Smart DNS tool.

This means you can’t use TunnelBear on game consoles, Apple TV, Roku, or most Smart TVs. This limited compatibility conflicts with its user-friendly image.

For PlayStation and Xbox, we recommend plug-and-play options like ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer or Surfshark’s Smart DNS.

Browser Extensions

TunnelBear’s browser add-ons are easy to install and don’t require manual setup.

There used to be an Opera extension, but it was removed. While Opera can technically run Chrome extensions, TunnelBear’s didn’t work in our tests.

Keep in mind that browser extensions only encrypt traffic from your browser, while the full VPN app encrypts all traffic to and from your device.

It’s disappointing that TunnelBear’s extensions don’t include extras like an ad blocker. However, the company offers a separate ad-blocker extension called Blocker.

Additional Security Features

A useful feature is TunnelBear’s GhostBear protocol. It’s designed to disguise your VPN traffic as normal HTTPS traffic, making it harder for governments, businesses, and ISPs to detect or block your connection. It may slow your speeds, though.

There’s also RememBear (a password manager) and SplitBear (split tunneling) for Android.

No 24/7 Live Chat Support

TunnelBear doesn’t offer live chat support. There used to be an automated chatbot, but we haven’t been able to access it in 2025.

The best way to contact customer support is by email through an online form. You don’t need a paid plan to use it, but you do need a TunnelBear account. The good news is you can create a free account and use that to reach support.

For a VPN aimed at beginners, the lack of immediate support to answer questions is disappointing.

Many premium VPNs, like ExpressVPN, offer 24/7 live chat to help troubleshoot user issues.