Every internet user wants to be safe but not everyone is ready to fork out for a top notch service. There are many affordable VPN providers claiming they can protect people on a budget but often these claims are questionable. TunnelBear is one of the most famous free VPNs with millions of users but does it really live up to the hype? Since my credo is trust but verify, I put this provider to the test to see how honest it is with its own users. So, stay tuned if you want to know whether TunnelBear is safe.
TunnelBear Jurisdiction
For VPN services, it is critical to be registered in a privacy-friendly country. Some governments adopt invasive laws allowing them to snoop on their own citizens. At the same time, there are countries that joined intelligence alliances to spy on people and monitor their correspondence. Neither are good options for a VPN company to be based.
TunnelBear as a legal entity operates in Canada. In 2015, an Anti Terrorism Act entered into force there. It endowed the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to monitor, collect, and store data about people who somehow might be involved in terrorist activities. It also means that government law enforcement services can visit a VPN provider and demand to turn over all data it has about its user(s).
Spying on people is not something new for Canada. It is a member of the infamous 5 Eyes alliance. It means that it secretly exercises espionage and it doesn’t even need a corresponding legislation.
Anyhow, with or without data retention laws in place, Canada is not a good place for VPN services due to massive surveillance practices.
Does TunnelBear Save Logs?
TunnlBear is partly a free service. Normally, privacy policies of such providers do not stand up to criticism. Therefore, I didn’t keep my hopes high when I examined the Bear’s policy. However, what I saw pleasantly surprised me.
The service claims that it doesn’t gather information about IP addresses (this includes your own IP and IP of servers you connected to), DNS requests, and user logs (it means the provider doesn’t know what sites you visit and how you use them). TunnelBear does store certain data regarding users such as your name, email, OS version, bandwidth consumed and a partial credit card number. This information is mostly used for troubleshooting and, in theory, it cannot lead spies or hackers to your real IP address.
In general, TunnelBear has a good logging policy, which, in addition, is written in plain English (it is quite rare among VPN suppliers).
TunnelBear Security Features
There is a big investigation about the safety of the TunnelBear’s client. I won’t go into details on this matter, it suffices to say that the study didn’t reveal any privacy-related issues with the software.
Now, let’s get down to security features. TunnelBear provides common encryption protocols – the most reliable and secure OpenVPN and IPSec/IKEv2. The former can be used with Windows, Mac OS, and Android operating systems but it is not compatible with iOS devices. If you still want to protect your iPhone or iPad with OpenVPN protocol, the only way to do it is to install third-party software.
If you experience occasional VPN disconnection your unencrypted data may leak into a network. Luckily, TunnelBear took care of providing a kill switch (they call this feature Vigilant) that stops your traffic whenever a VPN tunnel fails. Also, the service has recently introduced two Beta fixes which goals were to prevent IPv6 and IP leakage.
If you worry that the service has your credit card details (in fact, it stores only 4 last digits; the payment operations are handled by the third-parties), you can use anonymous payment methods. TunnelBear accepts Bitcoins, which is the most anonymous way to purchase a VPN subscription.
What else features does the provider have? Make sure to read this comprehensive TunnelBear review to find out more.
The Best Alternative to TunnelBear
So, as you see, TunnelBear is quite a decent service but it is not the best in the industry. There is an indisputable security leader that keeps absolutely no logs and which jurisdiction prevents the Big Brother from watching you. I am talking about NordVPN. The provider boasts unparalleled security functions that cover all the bases. With NordVPN, you will stay protected every step of the way.
Conclusion
TunnelBear doesn’t have a favorable jurisdiction but it tries to compensate it with a relatively good privacy policy. They store some connection logs (for example, the amount of data you used) but don’t monitor your online activity. Strong encryption, data-leak protection, and anonymous payment methods are in place. Summing up, TunnelBear is quite a safe VPN service.