Arc Browser Shuts Down December 22: How to Save Your Tabs or Move to Dia

The Browser Company will shut down its Arc web browser on December 22, 2026, ending a browser whose ideas, such as vertical tabs, have since appeared in rivals. It announced the decision on Thursday, October 22, stopped new Arc sign-ups the same day, and is steering existing users to Dia, its newer AI-focused browser, according to the company's farewell page.

If you use Arc on a Mac, a Windows PC or a phone, you have about two months to move your tabs, passwords and other data. After the cut-off, the desktop app stops opening, accounts are deactivated, and the company says it will delete account data within 30 days.

Key facts at a glance

• Shutdown date: Arc for macOS and Windows stops working on December 22, 2026, and no one will be able to sign in.
• Sign-ups closed: new Arc accounts could no longer be created from October 22, 2026.
• Mobile changes first: on November 23, Arc Search on iOS and Android loses its AI features, including "Browse for Me", plus sign-in and tab sync.
• Data deadline: December 15 is the last day to request a copy of, or deletion of, your Arc account data, per the Arc Help Center.
• Owner: Atlassian bought The Browser Company for $610 million in 2025, The Verge notes.

How Arc got here

Arc launched as a design-led alternative to Chrome, built by The Browser Company of New York. Its sidebar of vertical tabs, separate "Spaces" for work and personal browsing, and tools for restyling websites won a loyal following among power users.

The company changed course in 2025. It stopped active feature development on Arc that year and shifted to Dia, a browser built around an AI assistant that can work across open tabs, TechCrunch reports. At the time, the company conceded that a "novelty tax" and Arc's complexity had limited mainstream adoption.

Atlassian, a team collaboration and productivity software company, then bought the company. Atlassian said it completed the acquisition on October 21, 2025, describing The Browser Company as "the company behind the Dia and Arc browsers" in its announcement. Its stated goal was a browser built for knowledge work in the AI era.

Arc kept receiving maintenance updates after development stopped. The new announcement turns that holding pattern into a firm end date.

Why The Browser Company is pulling the plug

The company's main stated reason is security. "Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that is only increasing in the age of AI," it wrote on the Arc website. It added that Dia "was built from the ground up to meet today's security standards", so that is where its engineering and security teams will focus.

The Help Center puts it more bluntly. It says the company "can no longer keep Arc as safe and secure as it needs to be", and that its security team is now concentrating on Dia, which it describes as built to protect against modern attacks.

Arc is now in maintenance mode. The company says Arc will still get "basic updates and fixes" until December 22, but no new features.

The company also makes a performance claim. It says Dia "now surpasses Arc benchmarks in stability, speed, and security". That is the company's own assessment, and it has not published the benchmarks on its farewell page.

Open-sourcing Arc is not on the table. Many users responded by asking the company to release Arc's code, TechCrunch reports. Chief executive Josh Miller has previously explained why that is unlikely: Arc runs on the Arc Development Kit (ADK), a proprietary toolkit that also powers Dia. "While we'd love to open-source Arc someday, we can't do that meaningfully without also open-sourcing ADK," Miller said. "And ADK is still core to our company's value."

The shutdown timeline, step by step

The wind-down happens in three stages, with one extra deadline for data requests. The dates below come from the official Key Dates page.

Phones are treated differently. Arc Search for iOS will keep working as a basic mobile browser after December 22. Arc Search for Android, by contrast, will be removed from the Google Play Store and from the devices it is installed on.

Your data has two expiry points. After December 22, the company says it will delete personal data linked to Arc accounts within 30 days and will no longer be able to retrieve it. Browsing data stored on your own device is also effectively lost, because you will not be able to open Arc to reach it.

A data request made by December 15 covers account details, such as your name, email address and join date, plus a record of how you used Arc. It does not include your history or passwords, which are stored on your device and which the company says it cannot access.

What moves to Dia, and what doesn't

The company's preferred route is a one-click import into Dia, which is free to download for macOS and Windows. When you first open Dia, choose Arc as the browser to import from. Existing Dia users can import at any time before December 22 from the Import from Another Browser option in Dia's menu, according to the Move from Arc to Dia guide.

Most of an Arc setup maps to a Dia equivalent:

• Spaces become Profiles, keeping their tabs, order and colours.
• Favorites become icon-only pinned tabs at the top of the window.
• Folders become pinned Tab Groups. Nested folders turn into separate groups, because Dia does not nest them.
• GitHub Live Folders become Live Groups.
• Bookmarks, history, passwords, cookies, extensions and open tabs all come across, so you stay signed in to sites.

Two Arc features do not survive. Easels are stored with your account and do not move to Dia; you can save each one as a PNG image through its Share menu. Boosts, Arc's tool for restyling websites, cannot be exported at all, per the export guide. Dia also does not import saved payment methods or autofill data.

What it means for you

If you plan to switch to Dia, the move is straightforward, but do it well before December 22. On Windows, quit Arc first; otherwise Dia shows a "Cookies file locked" message. Keep Arc installed until the import finishes, because Dia reads your data through the Arc app. Importing does not change anything in Arc, so you can test Dia and keep using Arc in the meantime.

If you would rather use another browser, Arc's built-in export is more limited. On a Mac, go to Arc, then Settings, then Advanced, and select Export Data. On Windows, press Ctrl and the comma key, then choose Export Data under Export Spaces and tabs in the Advanced section. Arc saves a file called "Arc Data Export.md" that lists your Spaces, Favorites, pinned tabs and folders as links.

That file is a plain list of links, not a bookmarks file, so you will need to add the links to your new browser by hand. It also does not cover passwords. If you keep logins in Arc and are not moving to Dia, check before December 22 that your new browser or password manager can import them.

On mobile, iPhone users can keep Arc Search as a simple browser, but Android users will lose the app. To save open tabs on either platform, open the Tab Switcher, go to Settings, and use Export Data (on Android it sits under Storage).

Not everyone is convinced Dia is the answer

User reaction on social media was "largely disappointed", TechCrunch reports, with many people renewing calls for an open-source Arc. Some users also want a browser without a built-in assistant. The company's answer is that "the AI is optional" in Dia and that the Arc features people use remain free.

Others see the end as inevitable. Engadget's Lawrence Bonk wrote that "we kind of knew this was coming" and that Arc "never quite caught on", despite letting people personalise any website, in Engadget's report. He described Dia as "more or less, a standard AI-based web browser".

For people who want Arc's look without Dia, there are other options. The Verge notes that Zen, a browser built on Mozilla's Gecko engine, is "a frequent recommendation for people looking for an Arc-like experience".

What happens next

The next milestone is November 23, when the mobile apps lose their AI features and sync, and desktop Arc begins showing shutdown reminders. December 15 is the final day to request your account data or its deletion. On December 22, Arc stops working on Mac and Windows, and account data is deleted within the following 30 days.

The open questions are about Dia and Atlassian. The company says "some of our most ambitious work is just ahead", but it has not given dates. How many Arc users follow it to Dia, rather than to Chrome, Safari, Firefox or a smaller rival, will show whether Atlassian's bet on an AI browser for work can hold on to Arc's loyal base.

Key takeaways

1. Put December 15 and December 22 in your calendar. The first is the last day for data requests; the second is when Arc stops opening on desktop.
2. Move to Dia early if you want a near-identical setup, and quit Arc first on Windows. Keep Arc installed until the import completes.
3. Export your links if you are going elsewhere. Use Export Data in Arc's Advanced settings, and plan separately for passwords.
4. Save anything that won't transfer. Download Easels as PNG images now; Boosts cannot be saved.
5. Android users should export tabs before December 22, when Arc Search is removed from their devices.

FAQ

Can I keep using Arc after December 22?

No. The company says Arc for macOS and Windows stops working for everyone on that date.

Can I still download Arc?

Only if you already have an account. Existing users can download it until December 22 to sign in and export their data.

Does Dia cost money?

Dia is free to download, and the company says Arc's browser features are free in Dia, with AI features optional.