The Browser Company is shutting down its Arc browser and moving users to Dia, its newer AI-first browser. The company announced the decision on October 22, 2026, saying Arc will stop working entirely on December 22, 2026.
What is the Arc shutdown timeline?
The Browser Company confirmed the staged wind-down in a post on its official X account, @arcinternet. New Arc accounts can no longer be created as of the announcement. On November 23, 2026, Arc Search on iOS and Android loses its AI features, including “Browse for Me,” and sign-in and tab sync stop working, though the app keeps functioning as a basic local browser.
On December 22, 2026, Arc stops working altogether on Mac and Windows. User accounts are deactivated and personal data is deleted within 30 days of that date. Arc Search will also be removed from the Google Play Store, according to TechCrunch’s report on the announcement.
Why is The Browser Company shutting down Arc?
The company said the growing cost of keeping a browser secure in the AI era drove the decision. “Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work,” it said, adding that Dia was built to meet current security standards and that its engineering and security teams will now focus on Dia instead of maintaining two separate codebases.
The company had previously said that Arc’s complex, highly customised interface carried a “novelty tax” that limited mainstream adoption, a factor that appears to have shaped the push toward Dia’s simpler, AI-centred design.
What happens to Arc users’ data and settings?
The Browser Company says passwords, bookmarks, extensions, and browsing history carry over to Dia. Dia includes equivalents of Arc’s signature features: Profiles replace Spaces, vertical tabs remain available as an option, and Pinned Tab Groups replace Folders. Arc’s paid features are free in Dia, and the AI functions in Dia are optional rather than mandatory.
Some users have asked the company to open-source Arc instead of killing it outright. The Browser Company’s chief executive, Josh Miller, has said that is not feasible because Arc runs on the Arc Development Kit, a proprietary SDK that also powers Dia, making the two products too entangled to separate cleanly.
What is Dia, and how is it different from Arc?
Dia is The Browser Company’s Chromium-based, AI-first browser, built around a chat-style sidebar rather than Arc’s heavily customised tab layout. It can read what is open across a user’s tabs, summarise pages, answer questions using that browsing context, and compare products across multiple open pages, according to TechCrunch’s reporting on the browser’s feature set.
Dia runs on a freemium model, with a capped amount of free AI use and a Pro tier priced at 20 US dollars a month for unlimited access, per the same reporting. The company has also said it plans to bring some of Arc’s own “greatest hits,” such as its sidebar browsing mode, into Dia over time, and has announced a Windows version of Dia is planned, though without a confirmed release date.
Why does this matter beyond Arc’s own users?
Arc launched in 2023 as The Browser Company’s flagship product, led by chief executive Josh Miller, and built a loyal following for its unconventional sidebar-based interface and deep customisation options, according to a report from TidBITS. Adoption outside that core user base stayed limited even as the browser won praise from reviewers.
Atlassian acquired The Browser Company for $610 million in 2025. Arc’s full shutdown is one of the more visible cases yet of a browser maker abandoning a well-reviewed, actively used product to concentrate entirely on an AI-first successor rather than maintaining both.
Reaction on social media, as described in TechCrunch’s reporting, was largely one of disappointment from Arc’s existing user base, many of whom had resisted switching to Dia since its release.
Frequently asked questions
When does Arc stop working completely?
Arc stops working on Mac and Windows on December 22, 2026. Its mobile AI features end earlier, on November 23, 2026.
Will my Arc data be deleted?
Yes. The Browser Company says accounts are deactivated on the shutdown date and personal data is deleted within 30 days after that.
Do I have to pay for Dia?
No. The Browser Company says Arc’s paid features are included free in Dia, and Dia’s AI tools are optional. A separate Dia Pro tier, priced at 20 US dollars a month, adds unlimited AI usage on top of the free tier.
Can I keep using Arc after the shutdown date?
No. The Browser Company says Arc stops working entirely on Mac and Windows from December 22, 2026, with no option to continue running the app past that date.
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