Arc Browser Shuts Down Dec 22: How to Save Your Tabs and Data

By Jaspal Singh October 23, 2026 Updated: October 23, 2026

Arc stops working on Mac and Windows on December 22, 2026, and The Browser Company deletes account data within 30 days after that. Spaces, pinned tabs and history stored on your computer go with the app, so you need to export or import them into Dia, or another browser, before that date.

What Happened

On October 22, 2026, The Browser Company published a farewell notice on arc.net setting a firm end date for Arc, the sidebar-first browser it launched for macOS in 2023 and brought to Windows in 2024. The notice lays out three stages.

The first stage took effect the same day. Nobody can create a new Arc account, and the latest Arc release adds an option to export your data. Existing accounts keep working for now.

The second stage arrives on November 23, 2026. On iOS and Android, Arc Search loses Browse for Me and its other AI features. You can no longer sign in or sync tabs, but the app keeps working as a plain browser on the device.

The third stage is December 22, 2026. Arc stops working on macOS and Windows and accounts are deactivated. The company says it will delete personal data within 30 days, and Arc Search for Android leaves the Google Play Store. The notice also warns that once that date passes, the company can no longer find or retrieve a member's data in response to a data request.

As TechCrunch reported, the company's stated reason is security. It said keeping a browser secure takes constant work that is only growing "in the age of AI," and that its engineering and security teams will now work only on Dia, its AI-first browser. Chief executive Josh Miller also explained why Arc won't be open-sourced. Arc runs on the Arc Development Kit (ADK), an in-house toolkit that also powers Dia, and the company still treats ADK as core to its value.

The shutdown has been coming for a while. In May 2025 the company stopped active feature development on Arc to focus on Dia. In September 2025 Atlassian agreed to buy The Browser Company for $610 million in cash. Since then Arc has received maintenance updates but no new direction.

Why It Matters

Most browser shutdowns are gentle. When a browser is discontinued, the old build usually keeps launching and simply stops getting patches. Arc is different. It depends on an account, and the company has said the app will stop working rather than just stop updating. Anyone who puts off the move risks opening Arc in late December and finding their Spaces and pinned tabs out of reach.

The data at risk is also unusual. Arc users tend to keep their working memory in the browser. Pinned tabs act as bookmarks, Spaces separate work from personal life, and folders in the sidebar replace a bookmarks bar many users never set up. A typical Chrome user who loses the browser loses some history. An Arc user can lose the way they organized months of projects.

Security is the third issue. Arc is built on Chromium, the open-source engine behind Chrome, and Chromium security fixes ship constantly. Once Arc stops receiving them, every unpatched flaw stays open in the copy on your machine. We covered how fast those fixes come in our piece on Google's first Chrome zero-day patch of 2026. Running an abandoned browser past its end date is a real risk, not a matter of taste.

The move also says something about the browser market. The Browser Company is betting that people will switch browsers for AI features when they wouldn't switch for a better sidebar. Its own 2025 letter to members blamed a "novelty tax" for keeping Arc from mainstream adoption. Dia is the second attempt, aimed at the same audience that OpenAI and Perplexity are chasing with their own AI browsers.

How It Works

Moving off Arc comes down to two paths. You can import everything into Dia, or you can export a file and take it to any other browser.

Path one: import into Dia

Dia is free to download for macOS and Windows from diabrowser.com. According to the Arc farewell page, the importer brings across passwords, bookmarks, extensions and history. It also maps Arc's own structures onto Dia's: Spaces become Profiles, Folders become Tab Groups, and Pinned Tabs and Favorites carry over. You can run the import while you set Dia up or any time before December 22. The company says Arc's browser features stay free in Dia and the AI features are optional, so you can treat Dia as a straight replacement and ignore the chat assistant.

Dia keeps a good part of Arc's layout. Vertical tabs are an optional sidebar layout rather than the default, and the Profiles and named tab groups cover most of what Spaces and Folders did. Arc features with no match in Dia's documentation, such as Boosts for restyling websites, should be treated as gone.

Path two: export and go elsewhere

If you would rather use Chrome, Firefox, Safari or another browser, use Arc's new export option. The farewell page gives these routes:

macOS: Arc menu, then Settings, then Advanced, then Export Data.
Windows: Settings (Ctrl+comma or the Arc menu), then Advanced, then Export Data.
iOS: Tab Switcher, then Settings, then Export Data.
Android: Tab Switcher, then Settings, then Storage, then Export data.

If you haven't opened Arc in a while, the company suggests reinstalling the latest version so you get the export option, then exporting before the deadline.

Passwords need extra care. They are the most sensitive part of any browser migration. Move them straight into a password manager or the new browser's built-in vault, and delete any plain-text export file afterwards. If you are choosing a manager now, our tested roundup of the best password managers compares the main options.

Local data versus account data

Arc keeps two kinds of data. Account data, such as sign-in details and synced information, lives with the company, and that is what gets deactivated and deleted within 30 days of December 22. Your history, open tabs and Space layouts live on your own computer. They won't be deleted remotely, but they become useless once the app refuses to open, because there is no supported way to read Arc's local files without Arc. The export step matters for that local data, not for anything the company holds. If you also have a Dia account, the notice says only your Arc-related personal data is affected.

A sensible order of operations

Update Arc to the latest version first. Run the export even if you plan to import into Dia, so you have a fallback file. Then do the import, open a few Spaces in the new browser to check the result, and sign out of Arc only once everything is in place. Leave a margin, too. The company has not said what time of day on December 22 the cutoff happens, so finishing a few days early is the safe plan.

What's Still Unknown

The farewell page covers what Android users lose but says less about the iOS App Store listing. Arc Search on iPhone keeps working as a local browser after November 23, but there is no stated date for when it stops getting updates or leaves the store.

The page also doesn't say whether Arc on Mac and Windows will get any further security patches between now and December 22. That matters for anyone who keeps using it until the last week.

Dia's pricing for heavy AI use is not clear from its homepage. The site lists a free download and a "Dia for Work" plan with single sign-on and admin tools, without published prices. Arc features are promised free in Dia, but how much AI you get free, now and after the Atlassian integration matures, is not set out anywhere we could find.

Finally, there is the code. Miller has said he would like to open-source Arc someday but can't without also releasing ADK. With ADK still central to Dia, that looks unlikely soon, so no community fork is waiting to take Arc's place.

Frequently Asked Questions

When exactly does Arc stop working?

Arc stops working on macOS and Windows on December 22, 2026, when accounts are deactivated. Arc Search on iOS and Android loses its AI features, sign-in and tab sync earlier, on November 23, 2026. The company has not published a time of day for the December cutoff, so plan to finish exporting or importing your data a few days before it rather than on the day.

Will my bookmarks and pinned tabs be deleted?

The company deletes account data within 30 days of December 22. Your pinned tabs, Spaces and history are stored on your computer, so they aren't wiped remotely, but you lose access to them because Arc will no longer open. Use Export Data in Arc's Advanced settings, or import into Dia, before the deadline so the data survives.

Do I have to switch to Dia?

No. Dia is the replacement The Browser Company recommends, and its importer is the smoothest route because it maps Spaces to Profiles and Folders to Tab Groups. But Arc's export option gives you a file you can bring into Chrome, Firefox, Safari or another browser instead. Pick the browser that suits how you work, then move your passwords into a proper vault.

Is Dia free?

Dia is a free download for macOS and Windows, and The Browser Company says Arc's browser features stay free in Dia with the AI features optional. Its homepage also lists a Dia for Work plan for teams with single sign-on and admin controls, but without public pricing. How much AI use the free tier allows is not set out on the homepage.

Can I keep using Arc after December 22 if I never update it?

The company says Arc will stop working on that date, not just stop receiving updates, and accounts are deactivated. Even if an old build did open, running an unpatched Chromium browser would leave you exposed to every security flaw fixed after support ended. Treat December 22 as a hard stop and move your data well before it.

What happens to Arc Search on my phone?

From November 23, 2026, Arc Search on iOS and Android loses Browse for Me and its other AI features, and you can no longer sign in or sync tabs. It keeps working as a basic local browser. On December 22 the Android app leaves the Google Play Store. Export open tabs from the Tab Switcher settings if you want to keep them.

Why is The Browser Company shutting down Arc?

The company cites security. It says keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that keeps growing with AI, and it wants its engineering and security teams focused only on Dia. Arc had been in maintenance mode since May 2025, and Atlassian bought The Browser Company for $610 million later that year, so the shutdown ends a long wind-down.

Will Arc be open-sourced?

Not for now. Chief executive Josh Miller has said the company would like to open-source Arc someday but can't do it meaningfully without also releasing the Arc Development Kit, the in-house toolkit that also powers Dia. Because ADK is still core to the company's value, no open-source Arc or community fork is planned.