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TunnelBear Free Trial & How To Increase It

TunnelBear is one of the world’s most famous VPNs. It provides comprehensive online security and allows its users to browse the web in ways they haven’t yet before. Hence, it should come as no wonder why countless people want to try the VPN service without spending any money.

A free TunnelBear trial isn’t necessary since the provider already has a free tier subscription plan. This plan doesn’t skimp out on any of TunnelBear’s premium features. Sadly though, it does come with a bandwidth cap of 500 MB per month. With that said, you can increase that cap to 1 GB simply by tweeting about TunnelBear.

Unlike other VPNs of its ranking, TunnelBear doesn’t have a solid 30-day money-back policy. While the VPN provider does do refunds, it does so only on a case-by-case basis. As such, it isn’t the best idea to utilize the 30-day trial hack to get it without any monetary consequences.

Free Tier Available Free Tier Subscription (Always Available)
Credit Card Required For Free Trial No
Trial Period Unlimited (500 MB Per Month)
Refund Period 30 Days (Case-By-Case Basis)
Best Price 3 Years ($3.33/Month)
Website tunnelbear.com

 

TunnelBear Free Tier Subscription

As mentioned, TunnelBear doesn’t have a free trial because it already has a free subscription plan. To avail of this plan, all you needed is for you to follow these simple steps:

  1. Download TunnelBear’s app for your device
  1. Select the free tier subscription
  1. Create a user account
  1. Start using TunnelBear

The free tier subscription of TunnelBear calls for you to give away your credit info. Don’t worry though as you won’t be charged with any hidden fees. Also, you should know that TunnelBear has a bandwidth cap of 500 MB per month for its free subscription. This is a major setback as 500 MB isn’t much in this day and age.

Fortunately, you can increase this bandwidth cap to 1 GB by tweeting at the @theTunnelBear requesting 1 GB of free data. If anything, this is great as you get to double your data by doing something that is rather insignificant.

What Does The TunnelBear Free Tier Subscription Include?

  • Simultaneous Connections

You’ll be entitled to a max of 5 simultaneous device connections after getting TunnelBear’s free tier subscription. While this certainly isn’t a lot, it’s definitely enough given that you’re not spending any cash for the VPN service provider.

  • Netflix And Other Streaming Platforms

Unlocking Netflix’s most popular restricted libraries is possible after getting TunnelBear for free. However, you should know that the 500 MB monthly bandwidth cap will immediately be met if you use TunnelBear for streaming purposes.

  • Torrenting

Though torrenting is possible with TunnelBear’s free subscription, we don’t recommend it. The reason why is because our tests have shown that the VPN leaks when torrenting. To put it simply, it can’t maintain your anonymity, and will, therefore, leave you open to hackers.

  • Apps On Platforms

Getting TunnelBear’s free subscription will leave you entitled to all its apps.

Now for those who don’t know, the provider has apps for macOS, Android, iOS, and Windows. Furthermore, it also maintains limited support for Linux. That said, to download the VPN’s app for the operating system, you’ll need to contact customer support and request assistance.

  • Browser Extensions

TunnelBear’s free tier subscription will also allow you to use browser extensions for Chrome as well as Firefox. If anything, this is great as VPN extensions are excellent alternatives to apps.

  • Encryption

Even for its free tier subscription, TunnelBear makes use of AES-256 encryption. For those who don’t know, this type of encryption is military-grade. When using it, you’ll definitely not have to worry about cybercriminals and other entities getting access to your private information.

  • Kill Switch

All of TunnelBear’s applications have an automatic kill switch. However, because it isn’t active by default, you’ll need to enable it in the settings menu of the provider’s apps.

  • Live Chat

The customer service of TunnelBear is available to everyone. Sadly though, it needs drastic improvement. How come? Because it doesn’t have any chat support. That means the only method you can use to get in touch is through email and ticket support.

Why Would You Need A Free Trial Of TunnelBear?

Streaming: TunnelBear’s free tier subscription can allow you to stream restricted content. The reason why is because many of the provider’s servers can get around the geo-restrictions of popular streaming websites. Prime examples of which include Netflix, HBO MAX, and Hulu.

Also, it would be wrong not to mention that TunnelBear’s servers are fast enough to facilitate seamless streaming sessions. While connected to them, it’s likely that you won’t have trouble with quality drops, lengthy loading times, and buffering.

Torrenting: Sad to say, safe torrenting is not possible with any TunnelBear subscription plan. The VPN service provider’s servers leak when subjected to testing. That means they are not capable of hiding your identity and location from hackers and various other malicious parties.

Privacy & Security: TunnelBear’s free subscription can keep you safeguarded from online entities that wish to do you harm. As mentioned, the provider makes use of military-grade AES-256 encryption. On top of that, it supports the OpenVPN protocol, which is standard.

All of TunnelBear’s apps also have a dedicated ad & malware block. Aside from that, they also have an automatic kill switch as well as a VPN server obfuscation feature.

Travel: People who frequently travel shall find TunnelBear useful in more ways than one.

You see, the provider can let your browse the web as you normally would at home. It can also grant you access to otherwise restricted websites, online servers, digital stores, and game servers. Sadly though, it’s not capable of reliably getting around China’s Great Firewall.

Summary

Although it doesn’t have a free trial, TunnelBear is one of the few premium VPNs that have a free tier subscription plan. While this plan is great, it has a bandwidth cap of 500 MB or 1 GB per month. That means you can’t stay connected to the VPN provider 24/7 to guarantee your online security.

Unfortunately, there’s no other way to test TunnelBear out without risks. That’s because the provider doesn’t have a concrete 30-day money-back policy. While it does provide refunds, it only does this sparingly on a case-by-case basis.

By: Erwin Caniba
Eric is the co-founder of VPNOnline. He has been an avid user of VPNs since 2012. He has tested all of the major VPN providers and shares his findings on this website. Follow Eric on Facebook.