You opened Arc this morning and a banner or a headline told you it's going away. Maybe you've got 14 spaces, a few hundred pinned tabs and a sidebar you've shaped over three years, and now somebody's telling you to move to a different browser. Annoying. Slightly alarming, too.
This piece answers one question, is Arc browser shutting down, and then covers everything around it: the exact dates, what stops working on each, what happens to your data, and what to do about it. No panic needed. You've got time, and nothing about the move has to happen this week.
Is Arc browser shutting down? The short answer is yes
Arc is being discontinued, and the final shutdown is set for 22 December 2026. The Browser Company announced it on 22 October 2026, and The Register and TidBITS both covered it in the days after.
This isn't the first bad news. In May 2025 the company stopped adding features to Arc and moved its attention to Dia, its AI-first browser. For a while that looked like "maintenance mode": frozen, but alive. A lot of articles written in 2025 and early 2026 still say that, and they're now out of date. Maintenance mode had an end date all along, and we now know it.
So if you've read that Arc is "just frozen" or "still getting security updates indefinitely", that's no longer true. Security updates and basic fixes continue only until the shutdown date.
The timeline, date by date
Is Arc browser shutting down all at once? No. It happens in stages, and the stage that affects you depends on which Arc you use.
| Date | What happens | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| 22 October 2026 | Shutdown announced; new Arc accounts no longer available | Anyone wanting to start fresh with Arc |
| 22 October to 22 December | Basic updates and fixes only (per the Arc Help Center), no new features | Arc on macOS and Windows |
| 23 November 2026 | Arc Search on iOS and Android loses AI features, account sign-in and tab sync; becomes a basic browser | Arc Search mobile users |
| 22 December 2026 | Arc for macOS and Windows stops working; accounts deactivated | Everyone on desktop Arc |
| 22 December 2026 | Arc Search removed from Google Play; iOS app stays as a basic browser | Android and iOS Arc Search users |
| 21 January 2027 | Account personal data scheduled for deletion (within 30 days of shutdown) | Anyone with an Arc account |
New accounts have been blocked since 22 October, but existing users can keep using the desktop browser for now. The 22 December date is the one to circle: the desktop app itself stops working, not just sync or sign-in. That's a harder stop than most people expect from the word "sunset".
The gap between 23 November and 22 December matters too. Your phone loses its sync a full month before your laptop loses the browser, so if you pass tabs between devices, that habit breaks first.
What actually stops working
On 22 December 2026, desktop Arc will stop working. Don't count on it launching on 23 December.
The account side is separate but linked. Arc accounts get deactivated on the same day, and the personal data attached to them is scheduled for deletion within 30 days, which lands by 21 January 2027, according to The Browser Company and PCMag. If Arc's cloud sync is the only copy of your spaces and pinned tabs, that's the real clock.
Local data is a different matter. Cra reads Arc's spaces, pinned tabs, folders, favorites and archive straight from Arc's files on your Mac, which is why importing doesn't need an export step or a deadline. Keep those files until you've confirmed everything moved.
If you use Arc on your phone
Arc Search, the mobile browser, has an earlier date. On 23 November 2026 it loses its AI features, account sign-in and tab sync. It carries on as a basic browser. On 22 December, the Android version is scheduled to be removed from Google Play, while the iOS app stays as a basic browser.
Arc Search was always the lighter product. If you only used it for quick searches, losing sync is a shrug. If you used it to send tabs between phone and laptop, sort out a replacement for that habit before 23 November.
Is Arc browser shutting down on Windows too?
Yes. Windows Arc follows the same schedule as macOS: basic fixes until 22 December, then it stops. Cra, the browser this site is about, is macOS only, so Windows users should look at other options. More on that below.
Why is Arc shutting down?
The Browser Company wants to put everything into Dia. That's the plain version. In its farewell post, the company explains the direction, and the October announcement pointed users to Dia, an AI-first browser. Arc's current version has an export option for user data, and the company recommends moving to Dia.
The company is also now owned by Atlassian (since 2025, as Wikipedia notes), which doesn't make a niche, sidebar-first browser look like the priority. Arc was free, and the AI features that might have earned money were the part many of its fans ignored.
From a business angle the decision makes sense. From a user angle it stings: people loved Arc precisely because it wasn't trying to be an AI browser. Still, a free product doesn't come with a promise of ten years of support, and it's easier to plan once you accept that.
Is Arc a dead browser already?
Not dead today, but terminal. It still opens and still works.
Arc is built on Chromium, and Chromium security fixes have kept flowing through the maintenance period, though the Arc Help Center only promises basic updates and fixes until 22 December. After that, a browser with no security patches is a real risk, because browsers are the single biggest door into your machine.
Install your replacement the first weekend of November. By the time Arc Search drops sync on 23 November you'll already know what's missing, and you'll still have a month to fix it.
The experience also degrades before the end. No new features, no new accounts, and the odd bug that won't get fixed. If something annoying breaks in November, it may stay broken.
Should I keep using Arc until December?
You can, and for a few weeks it's perfectly reasonable. There's no emergency in the next few days. But there's a difference between "keep using" and "keep putting off".
What you do depends on how you use it:
- Casual use, few tabs: keep Arc going and move over on a quiet weekend in November.
- Heavy daily use, big sidebar: start trying a replacement now, in parallel, so by December the new one already feels normal.
- Work-critical setups, saved logins, extensions: do a test run first. Switching under deadline pressure is how you lose a bookmark you needed.
Don't wait for 21 December. A Mac that no longer launches your browser on the morning of a deadline is the one problem you can't fix on the spot.
What should you do now? A calm plan
You don't need a weekend of panic. You need about an hour, spread over a few days.
- Pick your replacement. Decide what you actually valued in Arc: the vertical sidebar, spaces, auto-archiving, split view, the command bar. Pick the browser that keeps those. More on options below.
- Don't delete anything yet. Leave Arc installed. Its files on disk are what some importers read.
- Install the replacement next to Arc. Run both for a few days. Use the new one for real work, not just poking around.
- Import your setup. Spaces, pinned tabs, folders, favorites. Check they came across the way you'd expect.
- Check extensions and logins. Arc used Chrome extensions, so most should be available again from the Chrome Web Store in a Chromium-based browser.
- Move your muscle memory. Rebind keyboard shortcuts if you can. Fighting your own fingers is the biggest hidden cost of switching.
- Retire Arc well before 22 December. Close it out, keep the app for a bit if you like, then let it go.
Do you need to export or import before the deadline?
For some browsers there's no export step and no tight deadline. It depends on where you go.
Arc's current version offers a data export, and The Browser Company recommends it if you're heading to Dia. If you're going somewhere else, check how that browser imports.
Cra, for example, reads Arc's files straight from your disk. On first launch, it imports spaces, pinned tabs, folders, favorites and the archive. Arc doesn't have to be running, there's no export to perform, and there's no deadline to import. Later you can do it again from the Cra menu under Import, or from Settings, Advanced.
The catch: that works because the data sits on your Mac. Arc cloud account data is scheduled for deletion by 21 January 2027, and the local files are what you're leaning on. So don't uninstall Arc or wipe its data until you've checked your new browser has everything.
What browser should you use instead of Arc?
Pick Cra if the sidebar workflow is what you loved and you're on an Apple silicon Mac. Pick Dia if you want to stay with The Browser Company and like AI built in. Our broader Arc alternative comparison goes deeper; here's the short version.
| Browser | Engine | Best if you... | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dia | Chromium | want to follow The Browser Company and like AI built in | AI-first design; different from Arc's sidebar workflow |
| Zen | Firefox (Gecko) | want a Firefox-based, open-source take on the Arc look | Different engine; some sites and extensions behave differently |
| Cra | Chromium | want Arc's sidebar workflow almost one to one | Young (0.1.x), macOS on Apple silicon only; no Easels, Boosts, Peek or Notes yet |
| Chrome, Brave, Edge | Chromium | want something stable and familiar | No vertical-sidebar, spaces-style workflow |
Dia
Dia is the company's own answer, and it's reasonable that it recommends it. If you're curious about AI in the browser and don't mind a different layout, it's the lowest-friction path from The Browser Company's side. It's a different product, though, not Arc with a new coat of paint.
Zen
Zen is a good-looking, open-source browser that borrows a lot of Arc's feel. Its big difference is the engine: it's built on Firefox's Gecko, which some people see as a plus (it isn't Chromium) and others find causes odd site quirks. It's a fair pick if you're already comfortable with Firefox.
Cra
Cra is what I'd point most Arc loyalists to, and yes, that's the site you're reading. It's a free, MIT-licensed, native macOS browser on Chromium, built as a one-to-one replacement for Arc. It isn't affiliated with The Browser Company.
What it carries over, by Arc's own names: spaces with a colour and emoji each (Control-1 to 9 to switch), pinned tabs and Today, Favorites with a different set per space, the command bar on Command-T, auto-archive (Today tabs tidy themselves after 12 hours to 30 days), the Library with downloads and archived tabs (Shift-Command-L), a tab switcher on Control-Tab, Little Windows for Little Arc (Option-Command-N), Split View with up to four panes, Picture in Picture, Air Traffic Control, the Site Control Center, Live Folders for GitHub pull requests and reviews, a profile per space, and Developer Mode with Chrome DevTools. Arc's default shortcuts work out of the box and you can rebind them in Settings. Chrome extensions install from the Chrome Web Store, and ad and tracker blocking is built in.
Now the trade-offs. Easels, Boosts, Peek and Notes aren't in Cra yet. There are no AI features, and Cra won't add Arc Max-style AI. It's version 0.1.x, so expect rough edges. And it only runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later: no Intel, Windows or Linux build. If you're on Windows, Cra isn't for you.
It's also built without an account, a server or telemetry. Read how it handles security and its privacy page before trusting it with your passwords, which is what I'd do with any new browser.
The mainstream options
Chrome, Brave and Edge are fine, and if all you ever wanted was a fast browser, don't overthink it. But if the sidebar was the reason you used Arc, you'll miss it within a day.
What about your Easels, Boosts and Notes?
Some Arc features have no home outside Arc. Easels, Boosts, Peek and Notes aren't in Cra, and they aren't standard anywhere else.
So before you pick, list what you actually use. Open your Boosts and count the ones you've touched this month. If it's none, you lose nothing. If a Boost restyles a site you use every day, check whether a browser extension from the Chrome Web Store can approximate it. It won't be identical. Make peace with that now rather than discovering it on 22 December.
Notes and Easels are harder. Copy anything you care about out of them into a plain document before the shutdown, because no other browser will open them.
Questions people ask about the shutdown
Will my data be deleted?
Your Arc account data will be, on schedule: personal data is set for deletion within 30 days after shutdown, so by 21 January 2027. Local files on your Mac aren't covered by that statement, but don't treat them as permanent either. Anything that matters should exist somewhere else.
Will my passwords and sign-ins come with me?
It varies by browser. Cra imports tabs, passwords and sign-ins from Dia, Chrome, Brave, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, Helium, Firefox, Zen and Safari. For Arc itself, it brings spaces, pinned tabs, folders, favorites and the archive. If you keep passwords in a dedicated manager, there's nothing to move.
Is it risky to keep using Arc after the last update?
A browser that no longer receives security fixes is exposed to every new Chromium vulnerability. After 22 December the question is moot, since the app stops working, but don't gamble in the weeks before.
Could The Browser Company reverse this?
Plan as if it won't. The announcement has dates, a deletion schedule and a recommended replacement, which reads as a decision already made. So is Arc browser shutting down for good? Everything the company has published says yes.
A realistic two-week schedule
Here's a pace that works for most people. Nothing here is urgent, but it finishes well ahead of the deadline.
- Week 1, day 1: install your replacement alongside Arc and import your setup.
- Week 1, days 2 to 5: do your real work in the new browser. Note what annoys you.
- Week 2: fix those things: rebind shortcuts, reinstall extensions, rebuild any space structure that came across oddly.
- End of week 2: make the new browser your default and stop opening Arc.
Start on 1 November and you're done before Arc Search loses sync on 23 November. Start on 1 December and it still works, with 21 days to spare.
Your next step
Open Arc today, count your spaces, and write down the three features you'd miss most. If they're spaces, pinned tabs, the command bar and Split View, download Cra, let it import from Arc on first launch, and run it for a week next to Arc. If the list includes Boosts or Notes, copy out what you need first, because Cra doesn't have them yet.
Cra is a free, open-source macOS browser built as a one-to-one replacement for Arc, and it imports your Arc setup straight from disk. It's for Apple silicon Mac users on macOS 14 Sonoma or later; it has no account, no server and no telemetry, and it's still at version 0.1.x.