Review Insights · App Store
TunnelBear: Secure VPN & Wifi
TunnelBear, LLC · 84,413 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
84,413 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 61 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"free"
19 negative reviews mention this · 31% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Was free but sneaky charges. I used the free up to 2gb per month service from time to time, but out of nowhere it tried to auto renew for $60 per year with me ever signing up. Cancelled and deleted,disappointed that they would pull that." - nick13b13
2
"connect"
10 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Never stay connected. Never stays connected from Philippines to USA. Have to reconnect 3-4 times a day. I will be looking for another vpn provider" - Apollo Drone
3
"been"
10 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free Account Now Limited. I’ve been using TunnelBear for years to get a sneak peak at newly released singles before they hit the US - this way, the artist still gets credit for the stream. I attempted to do this today and now you can’t pick a location on the free se…" - DarkAngel67231
4
"every"
10 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Just stopped working. I’ve used TunnelBear for about three years now. It’s generally been reliable and functional. But something happened in the last month that completely broke the app. It just refuses to connect with no explanation. I’ve tried every troublesho…" - BerliozBW
5
"countries"
9 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Also ruined by subscriptions. This app requires a “premium” subscription to function like a normal vpn 😂 It’s…a VPN. It should be able to link to other countries. That’s the whole point. I’m tired of all these businesses that are using subscriptions to milk people for …" - Feedback for Apps 1
6
"years"
8 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free Account Now Limited. I’ve been using TunnelBear for years to get a sneak peak at newly released singles before they hit the US - this way, the artist still gets credit for the stream. I attempted to do this today and now you can’t pick a location on the free se…" - DarkAngel67231
7
"other"
8 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Never stay connected. Never stays connected from Philippines to USA. Have to reconnect 3-4 times a day. I will be looking for another vpn provider" - Apollo Drone
8
"service"
7 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Was free but sneaky charges. I used the free up to 2gb per month service from time to time, but out of nowhere it tried to auto renew for $60 per year with me ever signing up. Cancelled and deleted,disappointed that they would pull that." - nick13b13
9
"tunnelbear"
7 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free Account Now Limited. I’ve been using TunnelBear for years to get a sneak peak at newly released singles before they hit the US - this way, the artist still gets credit for the stream. I attempted to do this today and now you can’t pick a location on the free se…" - DarkAngel67231
10
"other countries"
7 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Also ruined by subscriptions. This app requires a “premium” subscription to function like a normal vpn 😂 It’s…a VPN. It should be able to link to other countries. That’s the whole point. I’m tired of all these businesses that are using subscriptions to milk people for …" - Feedback for Apps 1
11
"logging"
7 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Horrible now!. This app used to be great, but I have nothing but trouble with it now. First it kept logging itself out, now it constantly disconnects and the on/off toggle switch doesn’t work. I’m gonna have to shop for a new one." - YikesML
📋 All 61 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Was free but sneaky charges
I used the free up to 2gb per month service from time to time, but out of nowhere it tried to auto renew for $60 per year with me ever signing up. Cancelled and deleted,disappointed that they would pull that.
Never stay connected
Never stays connected from Philippines to USA. Have to reconnect 3-4 times a day. I will be looking for another vpn provider
Yall are sick I’m the head
Why would I sub for my android phone then it keeps turning off by itself…no one asked for a dumb football update
Only good if free
Not to good it only connected to the closest one and i just wanted to connect to japan
Subscription needed
This app used to be free but it requires a subscription just to go to specific cities
не скачивайте
учетная запись не создается!!!!!
Not free anymore
Most reviews love how it was free now you have to pay for something that was free
Scummy
Scummy
Also ruined by subscriptions
This app requires a “premium” subscription to function like a normal vpn 😂 It’s…a VPN. It should be able to link to other countries. That’s the whole point. I’m tired of all these businesses that are using subscriptions to milk people for money
No longer connects
Not sure what is happening, but TB is no longer connecting, it ust spins with “Connecting” and that’s it. I have reinstalled the VPN profile on my iPad several times and nothing helps. Currently running iPad OS 16.7.16.
Free within you country
Only is free when used within your country
Not free
If your looking for free this one is not
Doesn’t work anymore.
5/23/26 Doesn’t work anymore. Fastest connection doesn’t connect to anything.
Useless
It connects in the same country !
Horrible now!
This app used to be great, but I have nothing but trouble with it now. First it kept logging itself out, now it constantly disconnects and the on/off toggle switch doesn’t work. I’m gonna have to shop for a new one.
Zero purpose
The whole point of this app was switching my country so I could watch movies from other countries on streaming services and now they force you to pay which is ridiculous
Thanks for the downgrade
I use like 5 megabytes in few countries and now I can't do that
Delete??
What happened the free 2GB???
Just stopped working
Rip off
Please issue me a refund. The app updated today and non longer works. No support for this app
Never heard a peep for help with app and no refund of any sort.
Please issue me a refund. The app updated today and non longer works. No support for this app
Never heard a peep for help with app and no refund of any sort.
Don’t work
Don’t work
Was good while it lasted, but its over.
It’s one thing to remove one of the MOST important features (international connections) but it’s entirely another thing to NOT WARN US. Whats been free for years is gone now out of no where. You want us to pay for upgrades? Give us a heads up. Uninstalling now due to morals and business behavior. VPN is useless with one country.
Sign out issue
Constantly get signed out and have to reconfigure
Worked, until it didn’t
VPN worked fine for months, then service got slow, VPN started acting wonky. The VPN wouldn’t work with my wifi, or wouldn’t connect to some websites, had to keep reinstalling the VPN profile to get it to connect. Now nothing works, and the help page says the slow service is probably my ISP and recommends switching providers. Really? No thanks, I’ll try another VPN first.
Logging out every day
If I have to log in every single day for the next month I will probably cancel my subscription. Ive been with this app for YEARS and this glitch in the app is the first time I’ve considered cancelling because of how annoying and inconvenient it is. Please fix this!
Why does it disconnect?
Bad very bad, Every day disconect il service, lo peor en VPN
Разлогинивается.
Каждый раз нужна авторизация.
Log out issues
Are u even trying to fix this problem?? It’s been days! Ur technical support doesn’t respond!
Keeps logging out
Tool was good for a year but recently has started logging me out every day and need to go through recertification on my device every day.
.
Вылетает из аккаунта каждые 4 часа
Canceling if this glitch isn’t fixed
I’ve been a loyal user of this app for over 15 years, but the last years updates have made it unbearable. The app keeps logging me out at random - a problem I’ve flagged with zero improvement. At this point, the constant disruption makes the service unusable. If this glitch isn’t resolved immediately, I will be canceling my account.
No sirve para otros países
Estoy en usa no me sirve para Latinoamérica
Latest update has ruined the app
I have used this app for so many years and it was flawless. However, the latest update broke something and now I have to sign in every 10 minutes. It is unusable. I have started using a competitor and will cancel my subscription if they can’t fix soon. Hopefully they can get it fixed! It was a really great app!
Terrible vpn
Needed vpn for the first time free trial ran out in 12 minutes
Silently changed from us to Canada to only us
Functionally useless and deceitful to now only let it connect to us without paying. Next
Decepción
La aplicación era un 5 de 5 , pero empezaron a cobrar caro ya empezó a decepcionar
Me gustaba pero ahora bloquearon todos los países para pagar
Me gustaba pero ahora bloquearon todos los países para pagar
Everything is behind a paywall in 2026
I updated the app and could no longer vpn to other countries for free . It kept charging me . RIP tunnel bear
Disappointing update.
I’m normally not one to write reviews on apps (this is actually the first one on my apple account), but TunnelBear used to be great! Very heavy emphasis on USED TO. I just haven’t used it recently and the latest changes have left me (and others, based on the recent reviews) upset. I used to use TunnelBear as a good VPN to read and watch shows, specifically for the free feature of accessing VPNs that made it look like I was from other countries. It’s disappointing that one of the best features of the app is now locked behind a paywall. While I have tried to use “Fastest” as a VPN anyway, it can barely function and takes a while to load almost every website, despite being called “Fastest.” I also randomly disconnect from the VPN at times, which then means the website refreshes and any “progress” trying to load the website in the first place is reset. It is annoying to see the direction this VPN is going and I will probably be deleting this app and finding a better VPN soon. I suggest anyone considering this app and reading the reviews to look elsewhere if they want to use an actually functioning VPN.
This app was good not anymore
Since Idk when in order to connect to other countries you need to pay when it was a FREE service and we need to share things out cuz this behavior it’s in so many apps not Worth it.
Was good, NERFED by a paywall in 2026
Recently, Tunnel Bear began to paywall basic features. Features like being able to connect to countries other than the one you presently live in. Most user of VPN services will note that that is one of the main features of a VPN, connectivity to other countries’ internet. Thats now paywalled, on top of limited data for free users (which I never had a problem with)
And it’s a shame too. This app was incredibly intuitive and easy to use. But if you live in a large country, it’s now worthless because you can only connect to a select number of nearby hubs. So if you’re in Europe, maybe you can connect to a neighboring country, but in the US your options are a different US location, or sometimes Canada.
So this app is now pointless.
And it’s a shame too. This app was incredibly intuitive and easy to use. But if you live in a large country, it’s now worthless because you can only connect to a select number of nearby hubs. So if you’re in Europe, maybe you can connect to a neighboring country, but in the US your options are a different US location, or sometimes Canada.
So this app is now pointless.
Skip this app
This was a great free vpn but not anymore, basically useless now unless you pay.
Using with Radio Garden
I subscribed to TunnelBear specifically to listen to Seahawks games. I live out of the advertisers area and cannot connect no matter what app I use. TunnelBear has not helped.
Not free anymore
Says we have 2GB of free data but like, if you live in the USA (as I do) it ONLY redirects to the US with the “closest/free” option, at least they could’ve left SOME countries free to use with the 2Gb but noooo, they don’t value their consumers. AND not only that but the company is using AI to answer to valid complaints and will not take any action toward fixing this problem which has driven many a consumer away, congrats on becoming just another greedy company.
Made a free part paid
Let me go to other countries for free. Greedy.
Lame
App sucks now
Greedy app
Ive been using this app for years and i even recommended it to friends but now i cant watch shows from netflix anymore. If u guys dont change the update ur gonna lose supporters, one of them being me. no one is gonna buy premium for a feature that used to be free so bye bye.
Deleting TunnelBear
Unfortunately the new structure that doesn’t allow me to select the country I want to VPN to invalidates the usability of this service! Goodbye TunnelBear, the cutest VPN I have seen! I am sorry it had to come to this!
Can’t log in
Just paid for this and I go to log in and now it doesn’t work I did the email verification and all can’t get it to work at all
Horrible
Horrible
Free Account Now Limited
I’ve been using TunnelBear for years to get a sneak peak at newly released singles before they hit the US - this way, the artist still gets credit for the stream. I attempted to do this today and now you can’t pick a location on the free service. Moving on from TunnelBear, unfortunately.
Never works on my iPad
TB never works on my iPad. I’ve had you guys for several years and I won’t renew again! This just feels like a money grab at this point!
The verifying website does not load
The verifying website doesn’t load and is not supported on any platforms, Google, Chrome, Safari, Bing, you name it. I can’t even write any good impression when the glitchy website verification doesn’t even allow me to log in. What a shame.
+ 11 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
92%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
5%
Negative (1-2★)