5 ms·

This is the opposite of privacy and you should be ashamed. You sold all of your customers’ info to Intel/McAfee at a price.

tssva 9y ago
They have a very detailed and plainly written privacy policy which details what information is gathered and how it is used. If their customers put a premium on privacy they should have read the privacy policy prior to using the service and understood Tunnelbear's obligations under it. As long as Tunnelbear has met them they have nothing to be ashamed of. It even addresses the possibility of being acquired and the impact that may have regarding the data they have collected. "If our organization structure changes (i.e we undergo a restructuring or are acquired), we may need to migrate your Personal Information to a third party related to a business transaction, but, we will ensure that such a third party has entered into an agreement under which the use of your Personal Information is only related to purposes necessary for the transaction."
- rasengan 9y ago
  OK, so you’re blaming the customers for not carefully reading the privacy policy? I understand that people should read things, but they don’t. They read the marketing text where Tunnelbear claimed to “really really” care about privacy. Further, they gave all of the personal information since it was all necessary for the transaction. Unsustainable VPN companies that operate at low margins to sell to the highest bidder like this are the exact opposite of privacy conscious. :(
- sigmar 9y ago
  I wish I had your optimism. Rule of thumb is that all informal agreements go out the window after an acquisition. Why would the board of McAfee care about a policy they didn't approve and aren't legally bound to?
- username223 9y ago
  > ... we will ensure that such a third party has entered into an agreement under which the use of your Personal Information is only related to purposes necessary for the transaction. Wow, that is the opposite of reassuring. The "purposes" could easily be "better profiling you to price insurance policies." Most T&Cs aren't worth reading. They can be summed up as "by having seen this document, you have agreed to let us do whatever we want forever," and what really matters is whether such contracts are legally enforceable where you live.
- skummetmaelk 9y ago
  >If their customers put a premium on privacy they should have read the privacy policy prior to using the service and understood Tunnelbear's obligations under it If you don't want to be poisoned you should read every food label of every food item you ever consume. Why make laws preventing manufacturers from poisoning some food when consumers can just read the label to find out which ones are poisoned! We should have sensible defaults. Not this nonsense where it is seen as acceptable to screw over consumers with carefully worded legalese.
52-6F-62 9y ago
To add insult to injury, they collected tens of thousands of dollars in Q3 and Q4 of 2017 from the National Research Council of Canada: $45,000 : https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/LOakjNa8v3uKlvejJ3wNSYGJykX7W9 https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/LOakjNa8v3uKlv... $20,000 : https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/gk2Mb423DZh69nzk730aceazJ6LnwP https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/gk2Mb423DZh69n... $20,000 : https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/wkBxj3BzKrhwr6Xl5vGjtRzOBlK2Pr https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/wkBxj3BzKrhwr6...
- richjdsmith 9y ago
  I don't know why exactly, but that really pisses me off. I'd love to see the Feds go after them for that money, but I doubt Mr. Dress-up or his government would ever do such a thing.
  - 52-6F-62 9y ago
    I don't know how that suddenly became about slagging Trudeau, but the best bet would be to start with contacting the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development—Navdeep Bains—or the Minister of Science—Kirsty Duncan—or the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) directly. Public scrutiny is precisely why the NRC is publishing immutable records of funding and grant allocations. The NRC claims to take their integrity in their work very seriously. Having been (co)founded by John Fields, they certainly have a reputation to maintain. https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/about/ministers/index.html https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/about/ministers/index.html https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap/contact/index.html https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap/contact/index.html
  - hobofan 9y ago
    Why should they go after that money? Those look like normal startup grants to stimulate the local economy, and given that the TunnelBear team will keep expanding this seems to have worked just fine. Sure, you might not like the ethics of their behaviour, but that has nothing to do with those grants.
AlphaSite 9y ago
I don’t believe intel owns mcafee anymore.
- Sohcahtoa82 9y ago
  https://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-nears-deal-to-sell-mcafee-security-unit-to-tpg-2016-09-07-151035827 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-nears-deal-to-sell-m... They mostly don't. They sold 51% of it to another firm, but still own 49%.
djole103 9y ago
Imagine having this much conviction in a personal fantasy despite the opposite being legally documented.

tssva 9y ago

They have a very detailed and plainly written privacy policy which details what information is gathered and how it is used. If their customers put a premium on privacy they should have read the privacy policy prior to using the service and understood Tunnelbear's obligations under it. As long as Tunnelbear has met them they have nothing to be ashamed of. It even addresses the possibility of being acquired and the impact that may have regarding the data they have collected. "If our organization structure changes (i.e we undergo a restructuring or are acquired), we may need to migrate your Personal Information to a third party related to a business transaction, but, we will ensure that such a third party has entered into an agreement under which the use of your Personal Information is only related to purposes necessary for the transaction."

rasengan 9y ago
OK, so you’re blaming the customers for not carefully reading the privacy policy? I understand that people should read things, but they don’t. They read the marketing text where Tunnelbear claimed to “really really” care about privacy. Further, they gave all of the personal information since it was all necessary for the transaction. Unsustainable VPN companies that operate at low margins to sell to the highest bidder like this are the exact opposite of privacy conscious. :(
sigmar 9y ago
I wish I had your optimism. Rule of thumb is that all informal agreements go out the window after an acquisition. Why would the board of McAfee care about a policy they didn't approve and aren't legally bound to?
username223 9y ago
> ... we will ensure that such a third party has entered into an agreement under which the use of your Personal Information is only related to purposes necessary for the transaction. Wow, that is the opposite of reassuring. The "purposes" could easily be "better profiling you to price insurance policies." Most T&Cs aren't worth reading. They can be summed up as "by having seen this document, you have agreed to let us do whatever we want forever," and what really matters is whether such contracts are legally enforceable where you live.
skummetmaelk 9y ago
>If their customers put a premium on privacy they should have read the privacy policy prior to using the service and understood Tunnelbear's obligations under it If you don't want to be poisoned you should read every food label of every food item you ever consume. Why make laws preventing manufacturers from poisoning some food when consumers can just read the label to find out which ones are poisoned! We should have sensible defaults. Not this nonsense where it is seen as acceptable to screw over consumers with carefully worded legalese.

52-6F-62 9y ago

To add insult to injury, they collected tens of thousands of dollars in Q3 and Q4 of 2017 from the National Research Council of Canada: $45,000 : https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/LOakjNa8v3uKlvejJ3wNSYGJykX7W9 https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/LOakjNa8v3uKlv... $20,000 : https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/gk2Mb423DZh69nzk730aceazJ6LnwP https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/gk2Mb423DZh69n... $20,000 : https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/wkBxj3BzKrhwr6Xl5vGjtRzOBlK2Pr https://nrc-cnrc.explorecatena.com/en/details/wkBxj3BzKrhwr6...

richjdsmith 9y ago
I don't know why exactly, but that really pisses me off. I'd love to see the Feds go after them for that money, but I doubt Mr. Dress-up or his government would ever do such a thing.
- 52-6F-62 9y ago
  I don't know how that suddenly became about slagging Trudeau, but the best bet would be to start with contacting the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development—Navdeep Bains—or the Minister of Science—Kirsty Duncan—or the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) directly. Public scrutiny is precisely why the NRC is publishing immutable records of funding and grant allocations. The NRC claims to take their integrity in their work very seriously. Having been (co)founded by John Fields, they certainly have a reputation to maintain. https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/about/ministers/index.html https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/about/ministers/index.html https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap/contact/index.html https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/irap/contact/index.html
- hobofan 9y ago
  Why should they go after that money? Those look like normal startup grants to stimulate the local economy, and given that the TunnelBear team will keep expanding this seems to have worked just fine. Sure, you might not like the ethics of their behaviour, but that has nothing to do with those grants.

AlphaSite 9y ago

I don’t believe intel owns mcafee anymore.

Sohcahtoa82 9y ago
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-nears-deal-to-sell-mcafee-security-unit-to-tpg-2016-09-07-151035827 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/intel-nears-deal-to-sell-m... They mostly don't. They sold 51% of it to another firm, but still own 49%.

djole103 9y ago

Imagine having this much conviction in a personal fantasy despite the opposite being legally documented.