(And if you don't need that, no problem – there's a 'Bear sounds' checkbox in Settings where you can turn the audio off.) Charming? Annoying? We're not sure, but the audio does have some practical value, by making it very clear when you're protected, and when you're not. We quickly noticed one surprising difference: a roaring bear sound every time the app connects or disconnects. You can choose locations from the map, a drop-down list, or have the app automatically connect to the nearest location with a tap. TunnelBear's mobile apps share much the same interface as the desktop editions, and that works for us. The mobile apps are built along the same lines as the desktop versions (Image credit: TunnelBear) Android and iOS apps No other VPN provider gets close to that level of transparency, and TunnelBear deserves major credit for making this happen. And then it repeats the process every year (as we write, it's had four full service audits). TunnelBear publishes the audit report in full, rather than quoting a few cherry-picked paragraphs. It also puts its servers under scrutiny, along with its website and backend infrastructure. The company doesn't just have experts look at its apps, for instance.

TunnelBear goes above and beyond to verify its promises, and now puts itself through some of the more intensive independent VPN audits around.

Most providers say something very similar, of course, but this isn't just marketing spin.

The TunnelBear website has a lot of reassuring things to say about just how it treats your traffic: 'TunnelBear does NOT log any activity of customers connected to our service. TunnelBear is unsurpassed among VPNs when it comes to auditing its systems (Image credit: TunnelBear) Privacy and logging

Tunnel bear vpn review