Reasons to use Arc Browser as a browser instead of Google Chrome

As someone whose job involves surfing the web all day, the browser you use plays a major role in determining your productivity. After years of using Google Chrome , many people switched to Arc Browser and have never looked back since.

Table of Contents

• 1. Better tab management
• 2. Automatic tab storage
• 3. Split view option
• 4. Spaces to create separate browsing areas
• 5. Useful features of Arc Max
• 6. Use Arc Boosts to customize your website
• 7. Arc Easel for brainstorming
• 8. Integrate with your favorite apps 
• 9. Website Preview
• 10. Better privacy and security

1. Better tab management

One of the biggest frustrations with Google Chrome is how quickly tabs can get out of hand. As more tabs are added, their titles become unreadable, making it increasingly difficult to navigate between tabs. Arc Browser solves that problem by displaying tabs in a vertical sidebar, allowing users to scroll through them easily.

Another standout feature of Arc is the way it handles bookmarks. You can easily drag a tab to the top left corner of the screen to pin it, and these pinned tabs act as both bookmarks and open tabs. This way, you don’t have to worry about accidentally opening duplicate tabs.

Many people also like the way Arc checks their existing tabs whenever they open a new tab. If the page is already open, they can switch to the active tab instead of opening a new tab.

2. Automatic tab storage

Another feature that Arc has that helps you manage your tabs better is that it automatically archives tabs that haven't been used in the last 12 hours. You can also extend this period to 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days.

This way, your browser won't be cluttered with tabs you opened and forgot about, whether they were yesterday or weeks ago. You can easily view or restore archived tabs if needed by clicking the archive icon in the lower left corner.

3. Split view option

With Chrome, you have to rely on Windows' Snap Layouts whenever you need to open two tabs side by side. While it works well, it's only a temporary solution. Arc, on the other hand, makes it easy to view multiple tabs side by side.

Just click the Split View icon at the top and choose whether you want to open tabs to the left, right, top, or bottom of existing tabs. Even better, Arc lets you save your split view settings. If you frequently use two sites together—like a research paper on one side and notes on the other—you can pin them together for quick access.

4. Spaces to create separate browsing areas

Spaces in Arc work like Chrome's Tab Groups management, but better. Use Spaces to create separate browsing environments for work and personal use. For example, create a space dedicated to work-related sites—email, documents, project management tools, etc. Then create another space just for fun—social media, news, and YouTube.

You can even customize each space with its own color-coded tab set and theme. Plus, Arc lets you save each space’s browsing data to different profiles, so work logins don’t overlap with personal ones.

5. Useful features of Arc Max

Arc Max offers a number of useful AI-powered features that make browsing with Arc more efficient. While you won't use all of them, some are particularly useful. For example, when you have more than 6 tabs open, just click the Tidy button in the left sidebar and Arc will automatically group related tabs together.

Another favorite feature is Ask on Page . Instead of scrolling through long articles or manually searching for specific information, just press Ctrl + F and ask a question. Arc will then instantly find the answer for you from the page, saving you time and effort.

And then there's the 5-Second Preview feature . By holding Shift and hovering over a link, you can get an instant AI-generated summary of the site—without even clicking. This feature is perfect for checking whether a link is worth opening.

6. Use Arc Boosts to customize your website

With Boosts, you can tweak the look and functionality of any website to suit your preferences. Whether it's changing the colors, brightness, or even the fonts, Arc gives you complete control.

My favorite feature, however, is the Zap Tool. It allows you to easily remove any distracting or unnecessary elements on a page. It’s really satisfying to clean up your web pages just the way you like them.

7. Arc Easel for brainstorming

A brainstorming session is often a chaotic mix of links, scribbled notes, and scattered screenshots. With Arc Easel, you can drag and drop ideas, images, and text into a flexible, limitless canvas right in your browser.

Essentially, Arc Easel is a virtual whiteboard where you can sketch, write, and record your thoughts without having to switch between apps.

8. Integrate with your favorite apps

Arc supports integration with a number of popular apps, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and X. For example, pinning Gmail in Arc lets you simply hover over a tab to check for unread emails. Likewise, with Google Calendar, simply hover over the icon to see upcoming events for the day.

Another thing people like about using Arc is that when you are listening to music on Spotify or watching a video on YouTube in one tab and when you switch to another tab, Arc will show a small pop-up window with basic controls like pausing, playing, and skipping tracks.

9. Website Preview

Preview is one of those simple features that, once you try it, you'll wonder why it isn't the norm everywhere. Whenever you come across a link while browsing, simply hold down the Shift key and click on the link to preview the web page.

It opens the page in a pop-up window, where you can quickly view the content without leaving your current tab. Once you've had enough, you can choose to expand the preview, open it in split-screen view, or just close it.

10. Better privacy and security

Chrome isn’t the first name that comes to mind when talking about privacy-focused browsers. While Arc is also based on Chromium and benefits from similar security updates, it takes a more user-first approach. It has some Chromium features disabled upon installation for better privacy.

Furthermore, unlike Chrome, Arc guarantees that it will not track the websites you visit or sell your data to third parties. Arc's privacy policy clearly states these promises, giving users much-needed peace of mind.

​​​​​​Overall, switching from Chrome to Arc is something you won't regret. The combination of a sleek new interface, useful features, and better privacy make Arc a go-to browser. If you're looking for a change, there are a few good reasons to give Arc a try.