Arc Browser Bids Farewell on December 22 as The Browser Company Focuses on Dia’s Future
The Browser Company announced it will discontinue its Arc browser on December 22, 2026, guiding users towards Dia, its AI-centric browser. This decision was revealed on Thursday, with the company highlighting the increasing costs associated with maintaining a secure browser in the AI era.
“Maintaining browser security demands ongoing, dedicated effort that is escalating with the rise of AI,” the company stated.
“Dia has been developed from scratch to align with current security benchmarks, so our engineering and security teams will concentrate their efforts there going forward.”
The process of winding down Arc will occur in three phases. As of Thursday, new Arc account creation has been disabled. On November 23, Arc Search will lose its AI functionalities on both iOS and Android, including features like “Browse for Me.” Users will also lose the ability to sign in or synchronize tabs, though the app will remain operational as a basic local browser.
By December 22, Arc will be completely inoperative on both Mac and Windows platforms. User accounts will be deactivated, and any personal data will be erased within 30 days. Additionally, Arc Search will be removed from the Google Play Store.
Despite The Browser Company’s assertion that Dia now outperforms Arc in speed, stability, and security, user feedback on social media has been largely negative, with many users expressing a wish for Arc to be made open source.
However, CEO Josh Miller had explained earlier that Arc is based on the Arc Development Kit (ADK), a proprietary internal SDK that also drives Dia. Making Arc open source would entail revealing the intellectual property behind Dia.
“While we aspire to open-source Arc in the future, we cannot do so meaningfully without also open-sourcing ADK,” Miller shared earlier. “ADK remains integral to our company’s value.”
For users migrating to Dia, many essential features from Arc will be available. Users will still be able to switch between personal and work environments using Dia’s “Profiles,” which were formerly known as Arc’s Spaces. The distinctive vertical tab design will continue to exist as an optional sidebar, and Folders will have a new name: “Pinned Tab Groups.”
Data such as passwords, bookmarks, extensions, and browsing history will seamlessly transfer to Dia. Features previously available in Arc will remain free in Dia, with AI functionalities available optionally.
This closure marks the end of an era that began in 2025, when the startup halted active feature updates for Arc. Following the acquisition by Atlassian for $610 million, the company acknowledged that while the early users adored the browser’s innovative interface, its novelty and complexity hindered broader acceptance. While Arc enjoyed a devoted fan base, it ultimately did not achieve the widespread adoption as a Chrome alternative that its creators had envisioned.
