Why I’ve switched to Arc (goodbye Chrome, Firefox, Safari…)

For many years, browsers have been mostly the same. Whether it was Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, I hardly noticed which browser I was using-until I discovered Arc.
TIMESTAMPS
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00:00 Introduction
00:42 First Impressions
01:11 Killer Features
06:56 Features That Don’t Resonate With Me
09:03 Who Is Arc For?
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[@PeterAkkies]

What could you (or do you) use Arc’s spaces for?

[@MattCorrDev]

I use the spaces linked with different profiles to give me good separation between personal and multiple work identities. It just works well. Plus all the other positive features you mentioned does make it a killer browser!

[@rjh9238]

i originally set up two spaces, one for 'personal' and one for 'graduate school', but the joyful flexibility of arc meant i've now switched up to having a 'personal' space, a school space with a 'dumping ground' easel (kind of like an inbox, for links or reference things to remember that i find and just need somewhere to put), and then individual spaces for each of my classes or research projects. it means that when i _know_ i have to study for one class, or focus in on one research project, i'm not easily distracted by the bookmarks or open tabs about other classes. blue colored space? that's math. red space? thesis. then the 'dumping ground' easel lets me just super quickly note any ideas about other classes/projects to come back to at a later date. it sounds too simple to really make any kind of spectacular impact but its been fantastic for my easily-distracted-adhd-brain trying to navigate the overwhelm of a phd that pulls you in several different directions at once!

[@brianm.9451]

I use Spaces to group related tabs together. I have a space for projects, so all of my Google searches and blogs with code examples? I have it all in one place. I need to try out Easel.

[@JTMGJTMG]

There is also Tabgroups in safari. Its enough for me

[@nonefvnfvnjnjnjevjenjvonej3384]

my fear is arc being heavily funded by venture capital will soon try to 10x the investment by either selling the user's data using "anonymized signals" or be bought by a chinese company like opera was.

[@ShaunMcLane]

One of the cool features with Easels is that you can turn those "screenshots" into live-updating tiles. I have an easel setup for morning updates where I see weather, news, and a few other sites I just need a quick update on without a full tab for each. Because the tiles live-update, I can go to the easel and see everything all at once.

[@cadenza23]

Oh wow that’s actually insane

[@HuziSid]

Thanks! I'm a student and have been using Arc for a while, but hadn't thought of using Easels in this way. Definitely setting this up tn!

[@tspmcfarlane]

Video production and editing is really slick here, Peter. It’s obviously an area you’re pushing to be better and better in - well done!

[@SeanMarsalis]

Here are a couple of ways I've been using Arc: Spaces: I have one that contains all my distraction extensions when I need to use a site like youtube to get work done and don’t want anything pulling my attention away. I also use a space linked with a different profile to log into the streaming accounts I share with family. I like keeping those websites auto logged in on a different profiles/space. Sometimes If I’m doing a lot of work or research on a particular topic that’s going to span a few days/weeks I will throw it in a space. Basically if I notice my folders getting too full for a particular topic i’ll just make it a space Boosts: although you can get pretty crazy with these you can use them to quickly remove annoying parts of websites you don’t want to see (like some of the ads). Easels & Notes: I use these to manage wish lists. If I come across an item I want but don’t want to buy yet i’ll clip it and add it to my wish list. I don’t use notes much, but I do write notes within the easels at times to clarify something about the clipped page. Thanks for the video, Peter.

[@baguapalm]

I have been using it for a year more or less. A must have! For me it has filled many gapes in my workflow and user experience. Go ahead those guys have done a great job and the updates are often impressive when the introduce a new feature. I recommend Arc, really!

[@SAMPONRAJ]

ohh.. this is still not available for Windows. Please mention that in your video.

[@MaxHeadro0m]

sounds pretty solid overall. but how is working with Arc on multiple devices. is there some kind of sync feature?

[@pasi123567]

I am definitely not sure if I would switch to this since I personally prefer the menus on the top and more things can be easily stacked there in my experience, but I do like some features Arc has and also baffles me no other browser thought of this yet. The overlay feature for example when you login somewhere is so much more seamless and feels like the way it is supposed to be. I also like the split view as a single selectable tab which seems great for certain things. I can't wait to still at least try this out when it's available for Windows!

[@HpDopeman]

Don’t overlook the energy factor, all these fancy animations come at a cost

[@malikkelly]

Def want to know about resources

[@CodexBS]

Been using it for ages and no concerns

[@TocaHappyGirls]

Great summary of the arc browser . Started using it today and I just amazed me

[@JohnTerhorstPhD]

My favorite feature of the way Arc uses pinned tabs is that each tab has its own "home" page. So say I have a KZbin tab, an Amazon tab, a reddit tab, etc. - as I browse around in each of those tabs, I can always return back to the home with one click. No other browser does tabs this way. Also the PiP video player that opens anytime you navigate away from a video that's playing is something I can't do without.

[@gmontenegro9711]

How is privacy/security? Have you analyzed inbound/outbound connections made by the browser just for being open?

[@MartinHarvey]

Thanks and a useful prez. Comments: - spaces sounds like tab groups on Safari which I find very useful for “project” type stuff I often need to go to - e.g. working on 3 trips right now - rename feature nice - one big issue I have with Safari tab groups is it’s a memory hog ( on OSX but not that I notice on iOS) - this caused me grief for a few weeks when I couldn’t get Lightroom to perform even adequately. So I shut down a lot of tabs and voila issue solved! - one nice feature about Safari tab groups is that they work on all my Apple devices bot on OSX and iOS - just noticed there is an iOS version - Safari looks pretty fully featured on desktop and mobile so I wonder if Arc the same?

[@bewhee]

Yeah, most of the features are on Safari too, tab groups being the most useful of these. Also, compact tabs fix the issue with the vertical space, so there is no need to use a left sidebar anymore :)

[@countrymusicoutlaw]

Interesting first I’ve heard of it and appears better for the way that I browse than Safari which I use thanks Peter great content as usual- Leigh

[@hansjc]

I got Arc last week and I love it! And btw, Peter Akkies is also my favorite KZbinr 😃

[@PeterAkkies]

[@iankastelic881]

Thank you! Great intro! Can you turn off the close tabs feature?

[@PeterAkkies]

Yeah you can turn that off

[@oncomics1128]

How does arc compare with Brave for privacy in a fresh install?

[@aidenquinn19975]

Gonna have to try it out, I fail to see how spaces is better from regular bookmarks and folders. Everything is already there with simple bookmarks, however the board feature, search functions and font modifying look very useful and I just hope there’s support for the Bionic Font for people like myself that struggle reading small regular text.

[@HuziSid]

Hey! I'm a college student and honestly thought the same about the spaces, but after using Arc for a few months, it just feels natural. I never really have to use another app since Arc does everything SO WELL. With constant updates every Thursday taking users' feedback into account, its getting better and better every week. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend!!!

[@aladin_run5404]

I'll certainly try it when it comes to Windows, automatic archive and Peek sound very useful.

[@DrBrianKeating]

Very intriguing Thanks

[@HorizonHuntxr]

Arc was actually made with software devs being the primary users in mind, hence why certain features seemed geared towards them

[@PeterAkkies]

Makes sense but most people are not devs

[@alemaodesenvolvedor2296]

In final of video, do you say "Tchau"? In Portuguese Tchau means bye or good bye, I like it :). Great video!

[@PeterAkkies]

I meant to say the Italian “ciao” but I’m happy it works in Portuguese too :D

[@alemaodesenvolvedor2296]

@@PeterAkkies :D

[@sewsweetbear4761]

Do you have a link? The one I found said that the browser isn't ready yet.

[@muhammadparacha]

Its public on mac, but on windows theres a waitlist (students skip the list if they join with their school email)

[@SewSweetBear]

Thanks!

[@front243]

Peter, could you do a video on how to improve productivity with ChatGPT?

[@amitsood5776]

Great video Peter. Well done.

[@elsaaforges]

I have been using Vivaldi with Workona to keep each space with its tabs organized. Arc would do both in one app? That would be cool! 😍

[@TheMrClaus]

I'm loving Arc so far, but Edge has a much easier split view mode, best I've seen so far.

[@robnowe5464]

Arc starts by asking for your mail address... that is a problem!

[@billsemmendinger2592]

I agree, I went to install it and it asked for my name email and to setup an account. That was a big flag that the company maybe tracking what your are doing.

[@CodexBS]

You are concerned about a random company simply having your email, but you don’t care about chrome tracking your passwords, automatically storing your gmail accounts every time you sign in, and generally just being controlled by google to a degree others aren’t? Hell, the second you get on the internet, you’ve pretty much signed up to be tracked, with cookies and data breaches and advertisers selling your info

[@CMG78]

what engine does it use? is it privacy respecting?

[@PeterAkkies]

It uses Chromium. And yes, as far as I can tell, they’re very good about privacy.

[@CMG78]

@@PeterAkkies Chromium is a turn off As web users we should not support this monopoly of web rendering engines that is going on otherwise we are back to the bad old days of the Explorer / Trident monopoly Also when i tried it the first thing i noted was i had to create an account to use it which raises privacy red flags.

[@quintennn]

Cool video, clear explanation. I'm an arc user myself and still looking for tips/tricks or clear videos (like this one) to explain arc to friends and family. There's only one thing I did not agree with. That is the boosts feature. You said you would rather have the team focus on things that are useful to a broader audience. Which makes sense but I personally don't use little Arc, I wouldn't say they should making innovative things even though I don't use them. Might not be for me but someone else probably enjoys it!

[@PeterAkkies]

Fair point, Quinten. I suppose I am always looking for developers to make products for *me*! :D

[@CHiCguitar]

I'm obsessed with Little Arc. It's so convenient for me.

[@KRUChY_80]

You know that Safari has profiles, that do the same thing that spaces? You have different tabs and you can log in to sites different accounts , but arc feels nice and PiP is great!

[@PeterAkkies]

Yeah that has become a common feature.

[@PrettyWhiteLady]

Not avail for windows yet - yes, i've been sitting here watching your video getting ready to use this thing and I can't.

[@malikkelly]

How resource intensive is it tho

[@phalanx3803]

finally a browser for power uses. wish i could get an invite to the windows beta program.

[@macsakki]

I am just awaiting the the updates in Safari in iOS 17 / macOS Sonoma before switching. Seems Apple is kind of marching in the same direction.

[@PeterAkkies]

Safari is definitely getting some nice updates, yeah

[@BrixsDNAfortnite]

Arc killer feature is USER PROFILES and this is just because of the loggins. Other than that is a great browser for people that needs help with their organization on a browser. Great video, Peter, I really like the rhythm of it.

[@BrixsDNAfortnite]

Safari has been my main browser for over a decade and still be. It’s all about security. Having all the login credentials and then 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) filled by themselves, is just a HUGE PLUS, and there is no other company I would trust my logins than Apple.

[@brooks5895]

Does it create a different device ID for the user profiles? In other words, if I have saved login information, will they information be saved in a different user profile?

[@totheknee]

7:38 - Ummm, so we can have a dark mode instead of the brightness of the Sun in our eyes? Who _wouldn't_ want that on day one?

[@nevilleantro-zp6bm]

I tried it for 1 month , yet it can't replace Vivaldi for me

[@maxminutiae1170]

Tried downloading it, even though I’m on Mac it put me on a waitlist to get it.

[@GofelipeGraphicDesign]

leaving Arc after 10 months of using it because it's no longer auto populating my saved passwords and they are getting rid of Notes making it just so-so.

[@atuagawu]

Does it have a mobile version as well?

[@PeterAkkies]

It does but it’s quite limited for now

[@atuagawu]

@@PeterAkkies You got me all excited and now I'm waiting anxiously on the waiting list LOL :)

[@PeterAkkies]

@@atuagawu Check your email 😉

[@timchesonis]

Vivaldi 6 has what they call “Workspaces”

[@rw5069]

Safari already has a similar feature to Spaces, it's called Tab Groups. I don't see what all the chatter is about for Arc

[@CHiCguitar]

I've been using Chrome for so long. I remember switching to it because I thought it was so cool how you could search from the address bar... Oh how the times have changed. In the market for a good new browser due to Google being Google

[@DanMills7]

You missed a key part of Spaces that make them even more powerful... You can connect a Chromium profile to the Space. So you can have Spaces with or without being connected to a Profile. For me a Space doesn't have nearly as much value unless its connected to a profile.

[@PeterAkkies]

Pretty sure I mentioned that, Dan. Either way, I tried user profiles and didn’t like the cost-benefit; it was confusing to keep track of where I was logged in or not in each space.

[@BrixsDNAfortnite]

@@PeterAkkies exactly! The login should be display clearly in order to be actually useful. What I currently do, whenever needing to use different accounts, is to use Private Mode or Brave Browser (if the thing is going to be open for very long periods of time - like days).

[@YukoKoneko]

I switched to arc about 2 months (form chrome. but I decided to switch back, because the mic bug always happened.

[@PeterAkkies]

Frustrating

[@RikThePixel]

Imma go off on a little tangent. I like what Arc is trying to do. I like the effort that they put into thinking of all these new and innovative features. However, it is slightly worrying that it will be **another** Chromium based browser. I am a developer (specializing in web-dev), and I fear that browsers moving to a singlar basis for their browsers will stifle innovation. The problem with more and more browsers that use Chromium is that chromium might get lazy, just as we saw with Internet Explorer. Less newer browser APIs, less new features that us developers can use. Webdevelopers are usually thought to check out the way your website looks on almost every browser, so Firefox, Chromium (Brave, Chrome and Edge, etc.), Opera and Safari. Frontend developers try to create a good experience. Because usability is key on the web. I highly support Arc however and like what they are doing. I just wish we got more alternatives that use base engines like Firefox's or another. If you want tot takeaway anything from this comment, just know that there are alternatives to chrome browsers. Give 'em a try, it doesn't hurt, and usually it allows you to import most of your current features, extensions and bookmarks!

[@apfelkuchen4672]

anyone tried vivaldi? I like it a lot and they have plenty features!

[@thomasrichards8055]

I’m a regular Vivaldi user. A lot of the features described here already exist in Vivaldi.

[@bilalazhar4495]

being able to make the webpage appear and show what you want is NOT just a feature for DEVS everyone can and should and will use it

[@DSebastian123]

Edge been doing some of these features already but this one is much lighter

[@Rozane2525]

Arc has a wait list.

[@rb.x]

Orion is a solid choice as well. (New browser)

[@smaloneytuba85]

Mobile app??

[@vivapaintersadelaide7384]

This guy literally reviwed the most power and productive browser ever.

[@todmaffinvideo]

EXCEPT it's not actually available yet?? wtf

[@plpGTR]

You maybe switched to Arc. But what if you ever want to switch back? You cannot export your bookmarks made in Arc (only the ones you imported to Arc). The aggressive "we want to be your only one, forever!" is not a good idea if you want to be the good guy in between the others ... :(

[@Provocateur3]

Arc for android?

[@piotr_sss]

I have love-hate relationship with this browser and currently prefer Microsoft Edge. But fingers crossed for this app. Arc and SigmaOS have great potential.

[@YaswanthGupta]

Edge does have most of these features 😊😊

[@-AnyWho]

sounds like you just made tabs more complicated ... i just want to open my bookmarks or search for something. it don't need to be anymore complicated then a window opening

[@zprocrypto]

If it's open source, let me know

[@seanbee]

Have you tried SigmaOS?

[@PeterAkkies]

No, I haven’t. Thanks for the tip! Will take a look.

[@PamBarnhill]

Thank you! This is awesome.

[@GrevMarkussen]

I’m literally kinda scared of Google getting monopoly on the web, so the fact that this uses Chromium (that’s framed as a positive in this video), is the only reason I don’t use this browser. Wish I could, though - cause it’s cool!

[@PeterAkkies]

Yeah it’s a positive for many people because it means websites will work. But I get what you’re saying.

[@GrevMarkussen]

@@PeterAkkies Yeah - but don't you see how that's a vicious cycle? Most people use Chromium, so developers don't bother with WebKit/Gecko. This makes even more websites work poorly on other browsers, and even more switches to Chromium. Suddenly Google controls the Web, and can do stuff like the "DRM for ads" that they're planning now. 😕

[@cowboybob7093]

Agree with you on the hesitation. Adding a browser that sounds like it's not quite running right (other sources/complaints) It is an AMBITIOUS browser, and because it's so good at migrating browser data it looks like it might eventually get info-grabby

[@callmeNeno]

How about security & how does Arc make money? Hopefully,they are not selling our data.

That was my first thought as well. I am using Brave at the moment, alongside Safari but I will give it a try.

[@hansjc]

It is my understanding that Arc will be subscription based once they go public.

[@CMG78]

@@hansjc being subscription based sadly does not mean they won't sell your data to the highest bidder. thanks but i will keep my money still sticking to firefox

[@callmeNeno]

@@hansjc of course like everything lol I am paying a premium for Apple devices hardware; I will stick and endure with free Safari and Apple’s stock apps.

[@PeterAkkies]

They have an article on their website promising to never sell your data. And they seem like good people to me.

[@Funkypants2]

I hate waitinglists 😂

[@SilasVanBuren]

Arc is built on chormium.

[@james1304_]

i think i can confidently say arc has changed my life lol

[@busimo]

how?

[@totheknee]

6:21 - Only forty-five tabs, lollool. Mere mortal....

[@Z4KIUS]

browsers nowadays aren't easy to use, everything is as crippled as chromium Firefox was the best browser we ever had, but sadly Mozilla killed it in 2017 and now we're stuck with chromium-wannabe that we have to hack into submission instead of just configuring things as they should be

[@retroflics]

You are following our mayor of Istanbul 😽

[@PeterAkkies]

Ekrem CB!

[@FitLifeRichLife]

Second video I watched…ok ok, I am now subscribed

[@Rozane2525]

Too bad they have a wait list.

[@AkamaiOkole]

The wait list is less than a day.

[@Moshie71]

Tablet Mode? 2024…

[@ultracello]

Not open source? :D Not another data crawler...

[@kindofanmol]

8:40 My man has FOUR propaganda articles open at the same time 💀

[@zeniktorres4320]

Why say Goodbye Chrome, when Arc is based on Chrome.

[@sudo.2]

* based on chromium.

[@ursulmusic]

@zeniktorres4320 it's not the same thing!

[@Ykh45..]

Chromium based not chrome based.

[@zeniktorres4320]

@@Ykh45.. I knew some one would mention that. I said chrome on purpose.

[@Ykh45..]

@@zeniktorres4320 sure... (lol jk)

[@sfwnsft]

Chromium to Chromium 🤓

[@PeterAkkies]

True but Arc really is very different

[@FyyMyy]

In my opinion totally overhyped

[@gebiete]

1:22 Q: What makes this browser different? A: Having to create a fucking account in order to launch it!

[@user-xo1td4qp9g]

This sounds IDEAL FOR HACKERS. Your video really doesn't mention security at all. In 2023, that's the #1 thing that people are looking for. A SAFE browser. You're talking about "Several accounts can be logged in at the same time." GOD!

[@thetiktokman]

Ane the download link is...???

[@mirjubaermahmud5405]

Can anyone send me an invite please