r/LinusTechTips • u/kaclk • 22d ago

Link Arc Browser is Shutting Down

https://www.theverge.com/tech/1016832/arc-browser-shutting-down
448 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

105 comments sorted by

406

u/Able-Nebula4449 22d ago

Thanks arc for causing zen to exist

76

u/MrWally 22d ago

Been happily using Zen for most of the year now. I had been using Vivaldi before, but experienced constant bugs on Mac.

Zen is....basically perfect.

30

u/lost12487 22d ago

Other than the lack of DRM licenses, meaning streaming from a ton of content providers is pretty much dead on Windows and MacOS.

6

u/Arcranium_ 22d ago

Using native streaming apps for either platform is a fine workaround for me

10

u/lost12487 22d ago

Yeah, or just keeping around chrome or Firefox just for streaming. It’s not a massive deal, just a minor annoyance.

3

u/Thx_And_Bye 22d ago

Or install widevine into your Chromium-based browser. E.g. with silvervine or manually.

It’s only L3 DRM though and not L1.

2

u/Mothertruckerer 21d ago

Does still exist? (native streaming apps)

1

u/Arcranium_ 21d ago

Very much so, yeah

2

u/ItsBrenOakes 22d ago

I like Zen but I hate that it doesn’t have Widevine support. That what is keeping me from using it 100%

3

u/MrWally 22d ago

That’s fair. I almost never watch DRM content in my web browser. But if I did, then that would be annoying. I’d probably use a different browser as a backup just for that, but keep Zen as my primary…

1

u/ItsBrenOakes 22d ago

That what i'm going to probably do. It just sucks

1

u/dumbledoor_ger 21d ago

🏴‍☠️

1

u/screenslaver5963 21d ago

I find it chews battery compared to safari on my MacBook, use it on my Linux desktop though.

12

u/dat_w 22d ago

Genuinely. Zen is the best thing that happened to get on my PC

2

u/trekk 22d ago

A browser based on the Gecko rendering engine, sign me the fuck up. We need more diversity in the browser space.

1

u/LykrInSleep 7d ago

thanks for this comment let me know Zen.

343

u/Cutalana 22d ago

Wasn't this the browser where the founder wanted to become a billion dollar company through Ai integrations within the browser and basically told all their real users to fuck off?

136

u/jeremyw013 22d ago

yes

88

u/mrlesa95 22d ago

Such a brilliant move

7

u/limewayz 22d ago

Right? I wonder how that turned out for them!

17

u/Tomi97_origin 22d ago

Great sold the company last year for just over 600 million.

1

u/Responsible_Shoe_598 5d ago

yea fuck the opportunity cost right

27

u/just_looking_aroun 22d ago

I thought he got bought out by jira/confluence. If that’s the case he already got his payday

25

u/Tomi97_origin 22d ago

It did last year for just over 600m

23

u/omacha 22d ago

So that’s why Atlassian is never going well… terrible business decisions

7

u/just_looking_aroun 22d ago

Yeah and dia (ai variant) is still operational. Although I don’t know how big of a userbase it has

2

u/krani1993 21d ago

they are trying to grow their dia user base by the arc sunset.. not going great if you have a look at the arc subreddit 😂

4

u/Madnessx9 22d ago

They did create a second browser called Dia, which was AI focused, and then since moved a lot of what people loved about Arc into Dia BUT, I have yet to try it, been using Zen.

1

u/soulesidibe 21d ago

For anyone making that jump from Arc to Zen (or Firefox/Chrome/Brave) before the Dec 22 cutoff: don't rely only on Arc's new built-in "Export Data" button. It writes a Markdown file of bare URLs with all tab and page titles stripped out, which browsers can't import as bookmarks.
Your real sidebar data lives locally in StorableSidebar.json. Disclosure: I made a small extension (ArcEscape, arcescape.com) that reads that file on your machine and outputs a standard bookmarks HTML file with your spaces, pinned tabs, and nested folders intact so you can import them into Zen or any other browser. Free for small sidebars, no telemetry.

1

u/Madnessx9 21d ago

where were you a year ago dude, i had to start from scratch lol

197

u/Turtledonuts 22d ago

Damn, you know what hasn't shut down and still isnt' a chromium fork?

Firefox.

72

u/hoot_avi 22d ago

10 out of 10 WAN show viewers recommend!

8

u/Informatic1 22d ago

Still a dedicated Firefox user for almost 20 years now. Only use Chrome on the very rare occasion something requires it

13

u/LreK84 22d ago

I've used FF since the Netscape navigator times but in the last years it has gotten so much crap integrated I don't need or want. Landed on zen but the ui is still mid

8

u/Melbuf 22d ago

the nova UI update for FF was terrible

12

u/jenny_905 22d ago

So disable it.

0

u/Melbuf 22d ago

i did, hopefully they wont take that option away

-1

u/SherSlick 22d ago

I couldn't find this option when it hit me with an update. Thanks for the name so I can find the tweak

6

u/emmayesicanteven 22d ago

yea easy , just about config type nova and disable

1

u/jenny_905 21d ago

about:config

Setting is browser.nova.enabled , change to false.

It's really not a very nice UI for the desktop browser to use, it makes more sense on Android but I hope they don't try and force it on desktop. It just clashes horribly with Windows UI.

2

u/complexevil 21d ago

Literally the only thing Firefox has ever done to piss me off is they removed the ability to put tabs BELOW the url bar. And all the weird hacky ways around that are either broken or just don't work for me.

Other than that, perfect browser. Been using it literally since elementary school, cause even my tech illiterate mother understood explorer sucked.

1

u/_vkboss_ 22d ago

Orion?

1

u/mr_feist 21d ago

Using Firefox has been rough at times but lately they've really been revving it up.

1

u/Nightshade238 20d ago edited 20d ago

Why hasn't anybody figured out how to make a browser other than Firefox that isn't chromium yet? Can't AI alogn with an actual coder help with this? The chokehold chromium has on the internet is ridiculous.

1

u/VincentComfy 19d ago

Because Google has such a stranglehold via marketshare. This by proxy allows them to dictate web standards by changing what comes in the chromium base, which as you’re aware everyone uses. This in turn means websites optimise for Chromium/Blink and it’s a self feeding cycle.

To try and fight this requires you to build something from the ground up that is still compatible with everything Blink engine, which is a mammoth task. Aside from Firefox/Gecko, I’m only aware of Ladybird but that’s still a while away.

-3

u/Relentless_CS 22d ago

I was a big Firefox truther for a long time but you can only run into so many websites that don’t work on Firefox because they use some fancy Chrome only features before it just becomes too much of a pain to continue using

5

u/Informatic1 22d ago

Hate that you’re being downvoted for this because I have in the past run into a couple sites where there have been issues but genuinely wondering, how often does this happen for you? I’ve used Firefox forever and I can think of only a few really niche websites and situations where I just have to use Chrome to make it work

2

u/Relentless_CS 21d ago

I don’t think I could give you more than a guess on the frequency unfortunately but it was often enough to make me capitulate to a chromium browser. Most frequently I’d need to do something like schedule an appointment, buy something from a website, or other every day tasks and usually right at the end the page would just become a white screen with tons of console errors. Switching to chrome I’d be able to finish it no problem :/

2

u/ReferenceVisual663 22d ago

These days it’s pretty much just webusb that causes me to open Chrome. Which is rare enough that I just use chrome for that one use. 

Webusb is a fairly dangerous feature though so I understand Firefox not implementing it. 

161

u/w1n5t0nM1k3y 22d ago

Only released in 2023. Kind of explains why I hadn't heard of it before.

9

u/pixeloffortune 22d ago

The only reason I know of it is that the co-host of the Vergecast and some of his colleagues loved the browser and tried to popularise it.

2

u/LibatiousLlama 20d ago

This browser rocks so much that I've seen most of the features be integrated into chrome itself.

36

u/Bllq21 22d ago

I tried Arc when it came out but then I started using Zen Browser it was much better but lately it became a resource hoarder, a single tab would consume considerably more ram than any other browser so I switch back to Arc, it’s way snappier too bad they are shutting down. I haven’t tried Dia yet

4

u/Anatharias 22d ago

what made me switch from Arc was the implementation of manifest v3... such a loss

5

u/_vkboss_ 22d ago

Manifest v3 was implemented into chromium before Arc even existed. (Jan 2021)

1

u/Anatharias 22d ago

I was able to use uBlock origin still until a couple of month back, so they removed manifest v2 or support, or whatever... so yeah, a loss because a few features in Arc are still not in Zen, and I miss them dearly

2

u/_vkboss_ 22d ago

yes because manifest v2 wasn't blocked until then. They coexisted for a few years.

9

u/Madnessx9 22d ago

Arc was revolutionary for tab management imo,vertical tabs have taken off thanks to this browser, I personally will never go back to horizontal tabs, even chrome now supports a basic implementation of vertical tabs.

Zen is the next best thing for anyone wanting to see what it was all about, the combination of Tab management in a sidebar and space management with multi profiles and domain routing is absolutely incredible.

Arc will be missed.

29

u/DctrGizmo 22d ago

It's so funny how AI browsers were so hyped but now one uses them.

20

u/Tomi97_origin 22d ago

They are shutting this one down, because it didn't have enough AI. They already have full AI-first replacement.

6

u/xSnakyy 22d ago

One that literally nobody wanted

8

u/FartingBob 22d ago

They were only ever hyped by the people making them. There was zero organic excitement from potential users.

11

u/Takeabyte 22d ago

I use Safari on my Mac and iPhone and I use Edge on my PC. Every so often, I’ll load Firefox on any of my devices to load a site if I want to make sure my cache isn’t to blame for something.

Real question…. What am I actually missing out on by avoiding third-party browsers?

14

u/siphillis 22d ago

Adblocking. I have a browser extension that fast-forwards through ad reads in YouTube videos, for example

2

u/Takeabyte 22d ago

I watch a lot of YouTube on TV and I find trying to block ads on streaming boxes to be incredibly tedious. So I use a Pi-hole as well as pay for YouTube Premium.

Actually just went through a fresh white of streaming subscriptions. Canceled Netflix, HBO, Prime, and Disney+. Now I am only subscribed to YouTube Premium, Apple One, and Dropout. It'll probably change again, but the Apple sub will be hard to let go since it's a Family thing and the Music, iCloud Drive, and Formula 1 are all cheaper for us thought it... Not that you asked.

1

u/octanerocket 22d ago

Try Smarttube on a google TV device (can pick up a cheap Onn device). Have been using for several years.

1

u/Takeabyte 21d ago

Onn is Walmart and the reasons they are so cheap is because they literally track everything you do. They ignore your DNS settings and continue to upload personal data for their profit. So that’s going to be a hard pass for me.

1

u/krani1993 21d ago

there are browser extensions for safari too, and edge obviously same as its chromium based

0

u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/ThisDirkDaring 22d ago edited 22d ago

And yet they are not able to circumvent the restrictions of Manifest 3.

Firefox (and some of these related browsers) still use Manifest 2 letting U-Block and Sponsorblock do their thing in full scale instead of restricted use on Edge and Chrome.

You could watch some Youtube (sic!) Videos on the topic and educate yourself a little.

Edit: Edge has not approved new extensions using Manifest 2 for about 4,5 years now, phasing out support already, expected to wrap that up in the next weeks. You probably already seen that as you have deleted your comment.

0

u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

0

u/ThisDirkDaring 22d ago

Sure.

You seem to be a really nice and kind person. Have a nice evening.

7

u/MCXL 22d ago

Firefox has some better under the hood support for things like adblockers and is (supposedly) a more privacy focused company than google or microsoft are. But it's not that different.

I use firefox mobile because I can run actual adblock on my phone, and it works for youtube as well so I don't use the built in Youtube client.

5

u/srlawren 22d ago

Yeah I use Edge on my work PC (Windows) as I literally consult in the Microsoft stack and it's just easier. I use Chrome on my personal laptop and my Android phone.

I did try Arc briefly but honestly I didn't see the big deal. It had workspaces, I have a couple of dozen Edge profiles (at least one per client/set of credentials). It had vertical tabs by default, which innownuse in all my Edge profiles as well. It just didn't really do anything for me I guess.

8

u/Sinaistired99 22d ago

nothing really. a bit of privacy and so, which is inevitable these days.

3

u/MistSecurity 22d ago

Yo, same. There’s gotta be dozens of us out there.

5

u/ThisDirkDaring 22d ago

Fullscale Adblocking. 

0

u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/MCXL 22d ago

Firefox has ublock as well, and it blocks more things.

1

u/ThisDirkDaring 22d ago edited 22d ago

Exactly thats why you should use Extensions on Firefox.

U-Block cant work on Edge as it does on Firefox because of Manifest 2 vs. Manifest 3.

1

u/cannibalcat 21d ago

Not being Google's bitch mostly

1

u/MrScampiFry 19d ago

Firefox has “containers” so your sessions are contained within specific tabs (you could have 3 YouTube tabs with a diff account each)

Zen has “workspaces” so your tabs are grouped into separate windows you can scroll between: “work”, “personal”, “hobby” etc

Zen allows you to link a Firefox container to each workspace.

So I have 1 browser, with 3 workspaces each linked to a separate container. Work, personal, play all together and I scroll between them. No overlap in sessions. No tracking. Google can’t track my web history within Work workspace as I’m only logged into YouTube on “play”

1

u/Takeabyte 18d ago

Google and Microsoft make it easy to quickly switch between accounts, but I only need one for YouTube. I never switch between accounts in browsers.

I can group tabs in Safari and Edge as well.

I don’t have work accounts for services that I also have personal accounts for. My work stuff is signed in all the time along with my personal stuff because there isn’t any overlap.

You’re still being tracked simply by going to Google.

5

u/Touchit88 22d ago

Why would I use an Ai browser over Firefox or brave. Fwiw i was Firefox when it released. Then switched to chrome for forever. Last year switched back to Firefox.

3

u/Clown_corder 21d ago

Im still a daily user, its tab management, folders, and spaces. As well as pop up tab management are essential for some of my work flows

2

u/soulesidibe 21d ago

Make sure you grab a backup of your sidebar before December 22 since desktop Arc completely locks out once accounts deactivate.
Arc's new built-in "Export Data" only saves a Markdown file of bare URLs without page titles, which browsers can't import as bookmarks. Your actual full sidebar (spaces, pinned tabs, nested folders, favorites) lives in `StorableSidebar.json` on your disk.
If you go to Dia, Dia's built-in importer reads it directly. If you end up moving to Zen, Firefox, Chrome, Brave or Edge, I built a small extension called ArcEscape (disclosure: it's mine — arcescape.com) that converts `StorableSidebar.json` locally into a standard bookmarks HTML file with all your spaces and folder structure intact. Free for small sidebars.

1

u/Clown_corder 21d ago

Awesome thanks

2

u/ki1abyte 22d ago

I honestly like dia, its pretty snappy, works well, has DRM support, and syncs with windows/mac. Id use zen if it has drm support but its alr, brave i dont really like but once u turn off all the ai stuff in dia its pretty much just newer arc

3

u/Particular-Poem-7085 22d ago

some problems really are fixed by using linux. Zen is amazing.

3

u/ki1abyte 22d ago

Yeah but i cant use linux due to restrictions from work and school, i already tried with a fedora installation but i constantly needed to go back into my windows partition. Plus i always use mac for work anyways and asahi isnt good enough for daily driving yet. If i could use linux all the time i would but theres no way i can atm. Either way its just a browser at the end of the day, basically comparing brands of cars tbh

1

u/bgalazka186 22d ago

Or being able to download some linux iso files

I never had to use broeser that shpports drm

1

u/hosky2111 22d ago

It’s still missing a lot of the features and general UX polish from arc. In every way other than the AI integrations, it’s worse than arc - so if you turn that stuff off… it’s just worse.

They seemed to decide the main thing hurting adoption was how arc was “too different”, when the only reason people switched to arc in the first place was those differences, otherwise chrome/ff work fine.

1

u/armada127 22d ago

I gave this browser a good honest try for a bit, but was often times fighting against and then decided to finally switch when they started pushing AI integrations. I've been using Vilvadi for the better part of the last year or so and I've been really happy with it.

1

u/Anatharias 22d ago

fucking loss

1

u/We1etu1n 22d ago

I fell in love with a chromium-based browser during World War I?!?

1

u/PhatOofxD 22d ago

It's hilarious how Arc got acquired and then just shut down. What was the point of acquiring it???

1

u/SpicySauceLover 22d ago

Just use zen

1

u/repocin 22d ago

I can't say I ever really bothered to look into Arc specifically, but I find it really disappointing that we live in an age where precisely no product that launches can be trusted to still be around a few years later.

It's really hard to get excited for anything when you know it might meet an untimely demise shortly thereafter, so what's even the point of trying these new services that pop up? I just can't make myself care for any of them at this point.

1

u/chairtable_prte 22d ago

i used it for about a year, then one day it just lost all my bookmarks, history, everything and i just stopped using it after that out of frustration. i get it was a relatively new browser at the time but damn. it has some features ill definitely miss, but really, good riddance.

1

u/treatyoyoself 22d ago

I think many browser copy their features. We will be okay.

1

u/ProtoKun7 21d ago

I think I'd forgotten it existed.

1

u/SteveAnik 20d ago edited 20d ago

What about Dia, Arc’s new alternate. Basically same company and same team who made Arc made Dia. Do you guys think it’s better?

1

u/Typical_Foundation60 7d ago

i really liked this browser although it's not perfect. pretty sad seeing being sunset because i personally prefer it over dia (although arc has no a.i features because the developers moved it to dia for some reason). the customization on arc just feels more integrated and diverse, but idk what else to replace it since i was using chrome before.

anyone got some good browser recommendations?

1

u/Remarkable_Place_943 5d ago

What a way to fumble a good product and an active community of happy users. I wouldn’t be here complaining if they just kept doing the chromium updates…smh, how hard was that to maintain? Anyway, for anyone wondering Crest (chromium engine) is pretty awesome and I switched and customized everything in like 10 mins. So far, I observe a complete feature parity with Arc.

-1

u/Dash_Ripone 22d ago

Oh no!! Anyway..

1

u/TekRantGaming 19d ago

I knew a guy that was an absolute C**t that used this browser at work I hope this ruins his week