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Arc browser shuts down 22 December 2026: how to export tabs and move to Dia

The Browser Company has stopped new Arc accounts and will end Arc on macOS and Windows on 22 December; here are the dates, the export steps and the alternatives.

audiotale.net team

· 7 min read

Written by AI from the sources linked below. How we use AI

On this page
  1. Key points
  2. What to do
  3. What happened
  4. Background
  5. How the shutdown works
  6. What it means
  7. What we don't know yet
  8. What to watch next
  9. Sources

The Browser Company will shut down its Arc browser on 22 December 2026. New Arc accounts have been blocked since 22 October, the mobile apps lose sign-in and sync on 23 November, and on 22 December Arc stops working on macOS and Windows and accounts are deactivated, with personal data deleted within 30 days. If you rely on Arc's tabs, Spaces or saved logins, you have about eight weeks to move them, and the company's own advice is to switch to its newer browser, Dia.

Key points

  • Arc sunsets on 22 December 2026; no new Arc accounts can be created from 22 October 2026, according to The Browser Company.
  • On 23 November, Arc's AI features such as Browse for Me are disabled on iOS and Android, and sign-in and tab sync end; Arc Search keeps working as a browser.
  • On 22 December, Arc for macOS and Windows can no longer be used or signed in to, accounts are deactivated and personal data is deleted within 30 days.
  • Arc has a built-in export of Spaces and tabs as a list of links, and Dia imports passwords, history, tabs, Spaces (now called Profiles), folders, bookmarks and extensions directly from Arc.
  • The company says it is retiring Arc so its engineering and security teams can concentrate on Dia; Arc had been in maintenance mode since May 2025.

What to do

If you use Arc on a Mac or Windows PC

  1. Decide where you are going before December. Until 22 December Arc keeps working and gets basic updates, so there is no emergency, but there is a hard stop.
  2. If you move to Dia, you do not need to export anything first. Download Dia, and when it asks which browser to import from, choose Arc. On macOS, an existing Dia install can import later via Dia > Import from Another Browser; on Windows, use the Dia app menu and Import from another browser.
  3. If you want your tabs in some other browser, export them as a list of links. On macOS go to Arc > Settings > Advanced > Export Data. On Windows open Arc's settings (press Ctrl+,), go to Advanced and choose Export Spaces and tabs, then Export Data. Choose where to save the file.
  4. Haven't opened Arc for a while? The company says you can reinstall it and export from inside the app before 22 December.
  5. Move your saved passwords before the deadline. The company says they come over to Dia in the import; if you pick another browser, the pages we read do not describe a password export, so check that browser's own import options while you can still sign in to Arc.

If you use Arc Search on a phone. The timeline gives 23 November as the date AI features go off and sign-in and tab sync end on iOS and Android. Arc Search keeps working as a browser after that, but on 22 December Arc Search for Android will be pulled from the Google Play Store.

What happened

On 22 October 2026, The Browser Company published "A farewell to Arc" at arc.net. It says: "We've decided to sunset Arc on December 22, 2026." The company gives its reason as security: it says keeping a browser secure takes constant work that is growing in the age of AI, and that Dia, which it says was built to meet today's security standards, is where its engineering and security teams will focus. The Register reported the news the next day.

The company's published timeline has three dates:

  • 22 October: new Arc accounts can no longer be created. For existing members nothing changes yet; the latest Arc version adds an option to export all of your data, and an easier import into Dia.
  • 23 November: on iOS and Android, Browse for Me and other AI features are disabled. Arc Search continues to work as a browser, but you can no longer sign in or sync tabs.
  • 22 December: you can no longer access or use Arc on macOS or Windows. Accounts are deactivated, personal data is deleted within 30 days, and Arc Search for Android is removed from Google Play.

The company's pitch for switching is that the team behind Dia is the team that made Arc, that Dia "now surpasses Arc benchmarks in stability, speed, and security" (a claim by the company that we have not tested), that the browser features Arc users rely on are free in Dia and that the AI in Dia is optional.

Background

Arc launched as a Chromium-based browser that replaced the horizontal tab strip with a sidebar. The Register, which covered its arrival in July 2023, says it never really caught on with the mass market, though it was admired for its design.

  • May 2025: The Browser Company stopped building new features for Arc and moved it to maintenance mode, limited to Chromium engine upgrades, security fixes and other as-needed patches, as it shifted to the AI browser Dia. CEO Josh Miller wrote then that within five years the most used AI interfaces on desktop would replace default browsers. The Register also reported that opening Arc's code to the community was ruled out because, as Miller explained, Arc is not just a Chromium fork but runs on a custom infrastructure called the Arc Development Kit (ADK), which Dia also uses.
  • 4 September 2025: Atlassian announced that it was buying The Browser Company in an all-cash deal worth $610 million, which the Register reported as expected to close in the second quarter of Atlassian's fiscal 2026. The Register reported that the founders said Dia would remain the focus, while Arc would not be permanently put out to pasture at that point.
  • 22 October 2026: the sunset announcement. It lands just over a year after the acquisition and about seventeen months after the maintenance-mode decision.

The through-line is ADK. Because Dia and Arc share an internal development kit, a decision to put engineering effort behind one tends to starve the other, and the company's stated security argument fits that: two browsers with a common custom layer, each needing security work, is a cost that one product can avoid.

How the shutdown works

The practical mechanics differ by platform, and the difference matters for planning.

Platform 22 Oct 23 Nov 22 Dec
macOS, Windows No new accounts; works as before Unchanged Arc cannot be used; accounts deactivated
iOS, Android (Arc Search) No new accounts AI features off; no sign-in or tab sync; still works as a browser Arc Search pulled from Google Play (Android)

A few details from the company's FAQ are worth keeping straight. On macOS and Windows, Arc keeps working "as usual" and gets basic updates until 22 December. The export is a list of links, so it preserves what was open but not Arc's layout. The Dia importer is the route that preserves structure: Spaces become Profiles, Folders become Tab Groups, Pinned Tabs and Favorites come across with their custom names, and the vertical layout is available in Dia as "Sidebar tabs."

What it means

For Arc users. You have a clear deadline and a free migration path, but not a neutral one: the supported route leads into an AI-oriented browser. Dia's own page positions it as "a better workday" with features such as a morning brief and a chat that can pull from tools such as Slack and Notion, though the company says the AI is optional. Whether you want that is a real choice, and the shutdown makes it one you must make by a date.

For the alternatives. The Register says many Arc users have found solace in Zen and that Vivaldi remains an option for power users. Zen's own site lists Workspaces, Compact Mode, Glance and Split View and describes itself as privacy-focused; it lists a beta as available. We have not tested either, and none of these tools can import Arc's Spaces directly as far as we could confirm, so the exported link list is the route to use.

For the market. The browser space is unusually busy with AI-centred products. The Register says there is risk in going all-in on AI-native browsers in a crowded market, mentioning Strawberry, an agent-based browser still in beta. Arc's retirement is a reminder that a loved interface can disappear when its maker's strategy changes, even with a deep user community.

What we don't know yet

  • How many people still use Arc. The Browser Company has not published a user count in the pages we read.
  • Whether Arc's source will ever be released. The company ruled it out in 2025 because of ADK, and its sunset page does not mention it.
  • What exactly "basic updates" means for security patches between now and 22 December, and whether Chromium security fixes will keep flowing until the end.
  • How Dia's performance and security compare with Arc's in independent testing; the comparison on the page is the company's.

What to watch next

Watch for the 23 November mobile changes, any extension of the deadline, and whether the company releases tools to move Arc data into browsers other than Dia. If you have data you cannot afford to lose, export it well before the final week.

Sources

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audiotale.net team

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