VPN providers
TunnelBear privacy rating
VPN service from TunnelBear, based in Canada, with a free plan limited by data and paid unlimited plans. Apps support WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2.
Summary
TunnelBear scores 42 out of 100 (grade D) on the VPN providers criteria. It meets 4 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, independent audit, TLS configuration and modern protocols. It partly meets transparency report, security headers and audited no-logs policy. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, tells users about requests, anonymous payment and open-source apps. It is based in Canada: Five Eyes member. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B.
Score 42 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
The privacy policy lists Google Analytics and Hotjar, and the Android app includes AppsFlyer and Google Firebase Analytics.
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Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Funded by paid plans, and the free plan has no ads. The policy states personal data is not sold.
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Yes
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
Cure53 audits the apps and servers every year, and the full audit report is public.
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Partial
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
The privacy policy describes what data is disclosed in response to a valid subpoena or warrant. No current request counts are published.
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No
Tells users about requests Weight 1 of 3
Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
No published policy on notifying users about data requests.
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Partial
Audited no-logs policy Weight 3 of 3
Has an independent audit confirmed that activity and connection logs are not kept?
The policy states IP addresses, DNS queries and activity are not logged. The Cure53 audits are security tests, not a no-logs assessment.
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No
Anonymous payment Weight 2 of 3
Can an account be created and paid for without an email address, name or card?
An email address and payment by card or app store are required. Cryptocurrency is not accepted.
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No
Open-source apps Weight 2 of 3
Are the apps for every platform open source?
The apps are closed source.
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Yes
Modern protocols Weight 1 of 3
Is WireGuard (or another modern audited protocol) supported?
WireGuard is supported alongside OpenVPN and IKEv2.
Automated tests
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Yes
TLS configuration Weight 2 of 3
Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
Grade A+
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Partial
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade B (70/100+)
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Not tested yet
Modern web standards Weight 1 of 3
Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
Not tested yet.