We’ve written plenty about why you should always use a VPN when connecting to an unfamiliar wireless network. Whether you’re in a hotel lobby, on a plane, sitting at a coffee shop, staying in an Airbnb, or walking around a theme park—if you’re using public Wi-Fi, you’re also potentially exposing yourself to all sorts of digital threats.
While public networks are great for staying connected, they’re also playgrounds for bad actors looking to steal your personal information. Passwords, emails, financial data, and even work documents can be compromised if you log into the wrong network without protection.
That’s why we searched for a VPN that was easy to set up and worked on all our devices. We landed on TunnelBear, and we’ve been happy with the service.
That’s not to say we haven’t had bumps along the way—like occasionally getting kicked off a network when the VPN connected. But I eventually figured out there’s a setting to fix that (pro tip: check your app settings or support page if you experience something similar).
Should You Trust a Third-Party VPN?
I hadn’t thought much about trusting VPN services until someone commented on one of our posts. In short, they argued that you should never use a third-party VPN because, under a court order, those companies are required to turn over user data to the government. In their opinion, the only truly secure VPN is one you run yourself.
That was news to me. I didn’t even know it was possible to host your own VPN. Turns out, it is—and it’s not even that hard to set up. But for most people, it’s not practical.
The biggest downside? Running your own VPN routes all traffic through your home internet connection. Unless you have really fast upload speeds, it can seriously slow things down. Plus, you become responsible for keeping your VPN updated with the latest security protocols. That’s a lot of pressure for the average user.
No-Log Policies: A Reasonable Middle Ground
Digging deeper, I learned that many VPN companies address the “government access” issue by implementing a strict no-log policy—meaning they don’t store any data about your browsing activity. If they don’t collect it, they can’t turn it over.
A quick check confirmed that TunnelBear has a no-log policy.
No! TunnelBear does not keep logs. This means we do not collect any information regarding what you ‘bear’owse while connected to our secure and private VPN.
TunnelBear’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service go into more detail. They even publish independent security audits to show how seriously they take user privacy. That transparency matters.
Honestly, how concerned you are about government access depends on what you’re doing online. I’m not worried—my goal with a VPN is to keep my data safe from hackers, not to hide from government surveillance.
Traveling to Countries That Censor the Internet
One exception is when you’re visiting countries known for blocking or monitoring internet access—China being a prime example. In those cases, a VPN might be your only way to access the open internet. There are plenty of guides on how to choose and set up a VPN that works in those environments, but be aware that not all VPNs work everywhere, and some are actively blocked.
Be Careful With Free VPNs
One last warning: Be very cautious when using free VPN services. Some of them make money by logging your browsing data and selling it to advertisers. Even if it’s not your personal info, your activity is still being tracked. That’s another reason to choose a provider with a clear, independently verified no-log policy.
Final Thoughts
After educating myself more on VPNs and the different options available, I’m still confident in the choice we made. If you’re already using a VPN, take a moment to review their privacy policies—especially their data logging practices. The companies doing things right don’t hide this information.
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10 comments
You’re overlooking a MAJOR factor here. They don’t have to turn over your data to the government IF they aren’t located in the U.S.
You’d have to be crazy to use a VPN based out of the United States (or another country that is draconian in this regard).
Plenty of VPNs are based in regions with friendly privacy laws and many of them purge records every 24 hours.
The point of using as VPN isn’t to protect one from the “Big Bad Internet”, it’s to protect one from the prying eyes of whomever is running the network from which one is connecting, such as a hotel wi-fi network, employer network, or one’s home ISP (Internet Service Provider). Nowadays, since most legitimate websites use SSL to encrypt traffic to their websites to ensure security, a VPN is mostly good only to ensure that prying eyes can’t see to where one is connecting or traffic from a non-SSL website. And of course to access websites or content not available in one’s physical location, such as a bank or a streaming service
Tunnel Bear is definitely one of the better ones out there. I signed up based off of NYT’s Wirecutter review and have been happy with it. Too bad Netflix doesn’t fall for selecting servers in specific countries any more.
I’d guess that some who are looking for a “serious” VPN are put off by TunnelBear’s tongue-in-cheek approach. When I looked deeper for this article, I found that they offer many of the same things the “SECURITY” VPNs do at a much better price.
I can see that being the case. I think it’s the perfect balance of ease-of-use and security. I do like the tongue-in-cheek approach too… though I may be a bit immature lol
informative read. this is a great reminder especially most of us do not use a VPN when connecting to wireless networks on commercial establishments.
Some VPNs use ALOT more data than others. I found this comparing two VPNs during a free trial. Currently using Cyber Ghost, but will not renew due to constant reminders that it’s active even though it’s turned off.
The best time to save money and purchase a VPN is during Black Friday sales.
That’s why I use Proton VPN. Based in Switzerland it’s against the law to turn over your info to any government
This was a sponsored post and light on important details. If you want privacy and security, a VPN based in the United States will not offer either. No logging is also not as it seems…logs are kept, there are different types o of logs. Do deeper research and pass on Tunnel Bear on principle of sponsored post.
This was not a sponsored post.Only our experience with a single VPN. I’m always up for suggestions for better options.