server performed even worse at 13.87 Mbps for downloads. A server in Switzerland afforded 54 Mbps on downloads while a server in France provided a dismal 34 Mbps. TunnelBear tested at unimpressive numbers. However, if your VPN does not offer sufficient bandwidth and quality servers, then uploading and downloading will always occur at a snail’s pace. A more powerful CPU and network settings are two of the factors that may have a positive or negative impact on your experience.

It’s true that user settings can affect the speed with which the user is able to browse. People not living in countries with restrictive Internet laws and not trying to circumvent a work or school network may not need the additional obfuscation feature, which may only slow down browsing speeds, something with which TunnelBear already struggles. Once again, this is not part of the default settings, but it can be turned on under the security settings. TunnelBear’s version of this service is available for users of Android, Mac OS and Windows. In these cases, an obfuscation feature can be invaluable. Take a look at our full guide on encryption. Users who have a recent version of iOS get IPSec/IKEv2 encryption. OpenVPN, which is industry standard encryption, is available on most devices running Windows, Mac or Android.

The good news about TunnelBear is that it uses some pretty hefty security and encryption measures. If the government or a surveillance alliance comes knocking, TunnelBear will have to turn over any data that is requested. Keep in mind that TunnelBear is headquartered in Canada, a member of the Five Eyes network.Īs such, this is not necessarily the best place to establish a VPN company, especially if your customers demand complete anonymity. They also keep the last four digits of the credit card used for payment and maintain a record of how much data is used. So far, so good, but the privacy policy also states that the company retains data concerning user names, email addresses and operating systems.

The privacy policy states that the company does not maintain records of which IP addresses visit their website, the IP addresses that are accessed via the company’s servers and any DNS queries that are carried out while users are connected.Īdditionally, any data about the apps, websites or online services that users access while connected via TunnelBear will not be stored.

Tunnelbear review