Arc browser stops working December 22; export keeps only links
Arc data deletion starts after December 22. Dia imports passwords and history; Arc's own export saves only a list of tab links.
The short read
Arc stops opening on Mac and Windows on December 22, and account data is deleted within 30 days after.
- The Browser Company is ending Arc to put its security team on Dia, its newer browser, which imports Arc's passwords and extensions.
What you can do with this
If you use Arc for work, import it into Dia or move your passwords to another manager before December 22. Arc's own export saves only tab links, not logins.
The Browser Company will shut Arc down on December 22, 2026, it said on Arc’s homepage on October 22. That day Arc stops working on macOS and Windows; account data is deleted within 30 days. TechCrunch and Digital Trends reported the same dates. Teams that work in Arc have two months to move their saved logins, and by Arc’s own FAQ, its export tool will not carry them.
Arc ends because security work moved to Dia
The company’s stated reason is security. “Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that is only increasing in the age of AI,” the farewell page says. Its engineering and security teams will focus on Dia, the browser it built after Arc.
The shift had been visible for a while. TechCrunch reports that active feature work on Arc stopped in 2025, and Digital Trends calls Arc long in “maintenance-only mode.”
Atlassian agreed in September 2025 to buy The Browser Company for about $610 million in cash. Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes said then that “today’s browsers weren’t built for work.” Of the two browsers it bought, only Dia remains.
Do not expect an open-source Arc soon. CEO Josh Miller told TechCrunch the company can’t do that meaningfully without also open-sourcing ADK, the internal toolkit that Dia runs on too.
The dates, in order
The timeline on arc.net runs in three steps:
- October 22: no new Arc accounts. Existing users see no change yet; the latest Arc version adds a data export option and a smoother Dia import.
- November 23: on iOS and Android, Browse for Me and the other AI features switch off, and sign-in and tab sync end. Arc Search keeps working as a basic browser.
- December 22: Arc stops working on Mac and Windows. Arc Search for Android is removed from Google Play and “from the devices it’s installed on.”
Until December 22, Arc “will continue to work as usual and will receive basic updates,” the FAQ says.
The export file is a list of links
We read the FAQ closely, and the two exit routes are not equal. Importing into Dia brings over passwords, history, tabs, bookmarks and extensions, with Spaces renamed Profiles and Folders renamed Tab Groups. The timeline says the new release can “export all of your data out of Arc.” But the FAQ’s steps for using tabs in another browser end in “a list of links.”
The FAQ describes no other way to take saved passwords out of Arc.
That is the trade-off. Dia is free, and the company says Arc’s features stay free there and “the AI is optional.” But Dia comes from the company that is ending Arc. Leaving for another browser avoids that bet, at the cost of moving logins separately.
After December 22 the company “will no longer be able to identify or retrieve Arc user data for data requests.” There is no recovery later.
What to do now
- Decide where each Arc user goes before December 22: Dia, or another browser.
- To move to Dia, pick Arc as the source when Dia’s setup asks. Existing Dia users on macOS use Dia > Import from Another Browser; on Windows, the Dia app menu’s “Import from another browser.”
- To leave for another browser, first move saved passwords into a password manager your team controls. Then export tabs: on Mac, Arc > Settings > Advanced > Export Data; on Windows, press Ctrl+, and use Export Data under “Export Spaces and tabs.”
- Check old laptops. Arc’s FAQ says someone who has not opened Arc in a while can reinstall it and export from inside the app until December 22.
- Ask before the deadline. Arc’s help chat at resources.arc.net stays open until December 22.
Sources
- The Browser Company, “A farewell to Arc,” timeline and FAQ, read October 23, 2026: https://arc.net/
- TechCrunch via Yahoo Tech, “Arc browser sunsets December 22 as The Browser Company doubles down on Dia,” October 22, 2026: https://tech.yahoo.com/apps/articles/arc-browser-sunsets-december-22-200151422.html
- Digital Trends, “Arc browser is shutting down in December,” October 22, 2026: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/arc-browser-is-shutting-down-in-december-long-live-ya-trailblazer/
- Crunchbase News, Atlassian agrees to acquire The Browser Company, September 4, 2025: https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/atlassian-acquires-browser-ai-knowledge-workers-dia/
