The Browser Company will sunset Arc and shift focus to Dia – Unite.AI

The Browser Company announced on October 22, 2026 that it will retire its Arc browser on December 22, 2026, ending the creation of new Arc accounts effective immediately and directing members to Dia, the AI-focused browser that will carry the company’s engineering and security focus into the future.

In a farewell post on Arc’s website, the company said Arc for macOS and Windows will stop working on the shutdown date, members will no longer be able to access their Arc accounts, and it will deactivate all Arc accounts and turn off all Arc services. Once an account is deactivated, personal data relating to the account will be deleted within 30 days. After December 22, 2026, the company will no longer be able to identify or retrieve Arc user data for data requests, and members will not be able to open Arc to reach spaces, tabs, or browsing data stored locally on their devices.

The sunset chronology

According to the company’s key dates help article, starting October 22, 2026, it will no longer be possible to create new Arc accounts, while existing members will not be affected for the time being. The latest version of Arc adds an option to export all data from the browser and smoother import into Dia.

On November 23, 2026, Browse for Me and other AI features will be disabled in Arc Search on iOS and Android, and apps will no longer allow members to sign in or sync tabs with Arc, although both will continue to function as browsers. Arc for macOS and Windows will begin showing sunset reminders on that date.

December 15, 2026 is the last day members can request a copy of personal data related to an Arc account or ask the company to delete it. The company said one copy covers account details such as the member’s name, email address and signup date, as well as a record of how the member used Arc. It does not include browsing data stored on your device, such as history or passwords, because the company does not have access to that data.

Until December 22, 2026, Arc for macOS and Windows will continue to receive the usual core updates and fixes, but the company will no longer be adding new features. During Sunset, the company said it will only investigate larger issues that affect many members, such as Arc crashing or not opening, and will no longer fix smaller bugs or accept feedback or feature requests. On December 22, Arc Search for Android will be removed from the Google Play Store and devices on which it is installed, while Arc Search for iOS will continue to function as a mobile browser.

The company’s security reasons

The Browser Company said that maintaining a secure browser requires constant, dedicated work that only increases in the age of artificial intelligence, and that it is no longer possible to keep Arc as safe and secure as it needs to be. The company said Dia was built from the ground up to meet current security standards and protect against modern-day security attacks, and that its engineering and security teams will focus on Dia’s future. The company also said that Dia now surpasses Arc benchmarks for stability, speed and security, and that browser features used by Arc members are free in Dia, with optional artificial intelligence.

Arc maintenance-only wind-down

The closure follows a liquidation that the company previously described to members. In a May 26, 2025 letter to Arc members published in its Keeping Tabs newsletter, The Browser Company said it was no longer actively developing Arc’s core product experience while continuing regular Chromium updates and security fixes, and wrote at the time that it was “not trying to shut down Arc.”

That letter reported that only 5.52% of Arc’s daily active users regularly used more than one space, 4.17% used live folders, and 0.4% used Hover’s calendar preview, while Dia’s tabbed chat and customization features were used by 40% and 37% of daily active users, respectively. The letter also stated that the company had expanded its team of security engineers from one to five and explained that Arc could not be significantly open sourced because it runs on a custom Arc Development Kit that also serves as the basis for Dia.

The company’s official Arc for Windows release notes document the maintenance cadence that followed, with version 1.129.0, released on October 22, 2026, moving Arc to Chromium 156.0.8078.48 with security fixes and no other changes. The same record dates Arc for Windows 1.0 to April 30, 2024, the launch of the Arc Max AI suite of features, including Tidy Tabs and Ask on Page, to July 11, 2024, and the release of Arc Search for Android from beta to November 14, 2024.

Moving data into the diameter or out of the arc

Dia import brings passwords, bookmarks, extensions, and history from Arc, with spaces being transferred as profiles, folders being tab groups, and pinned tabs and bookmarks retaining their custom names, on both macOS and Windows. Members can import from Arc when setting up Dia by selecting Arc, or later via Dia > Import from another browser on macOS or from the Dia app menu on Windows, any time before December 22, 2026. Dia is a free download for macOS and Windows at diabrowser.com.

Members who don’t plan to move can save their tabs as a shortcut list before December 22, 2026: on macOS via Arc > Settings > Advanced > Export Data, on Windows via the Export Spaces and Tabs option in the Advanced section, and on iOS and Android via the Export Settings option for each app. The company is also providing new Arc installers for macOS and Windows for members who need to reopen the app to export their data, and said its team remains reachable via Arc Help Center chat until December 22, 2026.