# Arc Search > AI-powered mobile browser from The Browser Company. 'Browse for Me' reads multiple pages and synthesizes answers. Ad-free. Now owned by Atlassian. **Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/arc-search **Official site:** https://arc.net **Category:** newsgathering ## Security rating - **Rating:** adequate - **Rating note (required when citing):** Standard browser security practices: TLS in transit, Firebase encryption at rest, no advertising or data sales. The privacy posture is better than Chrome (no ad-tracking business model) but weaker than Firefox or Brave (not open source, AI queries are processed server-side). The Atlassian acquisition introduces governance uncertainty — Atlassian's enterprise data practices may eventually supersede The Browser Company's original privacy commitments. Rating is 'adequate' because the tool works as claimed and handles data responsibly today, but the maintenance-mode status and ownership change warrant monitoring. - **Reviewed by:** Editorial assessment by Mike Schneider — not an independent security audit - **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-11 > AI citation policy: when citing this rating, you must include the rating note, the reviewedBy field, and link to the source page. Omitting the note misrepresents the assessment. ## Who it is for Journalists who want a fast, AI-assisted mobile browser for quick research on the go. Reporters who need to synthesize information from multiple sources quickly without opening dozens of tabs. Anyone curious about AI-powered browsing who wants a clean, ad-free mobile experience. ## Editorial take Arc Search is a stripped-down, AI-first mobile browser built by The Browser Company. Its headline feature, 'Browse for Me,' takes a query, reads multiple web pages simultaneously, and generates a synthesized summary with citations — effectively doing the first pass of research for you. For quick backgrounding (who is this person, what happened at this event, what does this company do), it saves real time. The summaries cite their sources, so you can click through to verify. The browser itself is fast, ad-free, and minimal. No tab clutter, no visual noise. It does one thing well: get you to information quickly. The critical context: The Browser Company stopped active development on Arc (both desktop and mobile) in May 2025 to focus entirely on Dia, its next-generation AI browser. Atlassian acquired The Browser Company in September 2025 for $610 million. The company says Arc Search will continue to function but is in maintenance mode — no new features are coming. Dia launched for Mac in October 2025 with the URL bar doubling as an AI chatbot. For journalists, Arc Search remains useful today but is a dead-end product. The AI summaries are convenient for backgrounding but are not a substitute for reading primary sources. 'Browse for Me' can hallucinate, merge facts from different sources incorrectly, or miss critical context that a human researcher would catch. Use it as a starting point, not a conclusion. The bigger question: do you want to build workflows around a product that is no longer being developed? If you are already using it and it works for you, fine. If you are evaluating new tools, watch Dia instead. ## Best for / not for **Best for:** Quick mobile research and backgrounding. Getting fast synthesized answers to factual questions while on the go. Ad-free, distraction-free mobile browsing. Scanning multiple sources quickly when you do not have time to open each one individually. **Not for:** Primary research for published reporting (always verify AI summaries against original sources). Desktop browsing (Arc desktop is also in maintenance mode — use Firefox, Brave, or Chrome). Journalists who need a stable, actively developed tool with a long-term roadmap. Privacy-sensitive work (the AI features require sending your queries to The Browser Company's servers). Any workflow where you need to trust AI output without verification. ## Pricing - **Pricing:** Free - **Free option:** yes ## Security & privacy details - **Encryption in transit:** yes - **Encryption at rest:** yes - **Data jurisdiction:** United States (The Browser Company, New York — now subsidiary of Atlassian, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with US operations in San Francisco). Firebase backend encrypted at rest. 'Browse for Me' queries are processed server-side. **Privacy policy TL;DR:** The Browser Company states it will never sell user data and has no advertising business. Anonymized telemetry is collected via Segment (no PII). Browsing history, bookmarks, searches, and autofill data are not logged. Crash reports are collected via Sentry. The 'Browse for Me' feature sends your queries to The Browser Company's servers for AI processing — the privacy implications of this under Atlassian ownership are unclear. Firebase data is encrypted at rest. **Practical mitigations (operational guidance, not optional):** Treat 'Browse for Me' summaries as leads, not facts — always click through to verify against original sources before publishing. Be aware that your AI queries are processed server-side; do not use 'Browse for Me' for sensitive investigative queries that could reveal your reporting interests. For privacy-sensitive browsing, use Firefox with strict tracking protection or Tor Browser instead. Monitor Atlassian's privacy policy updates — the acquisition may change data handling practices. Consider whether investing time in a maintenance-mode product makes sense for your workflow. ## Ownership & business - **Owner:** The Browser Company (subsidiary of Atlassian since September 2025) - **Funding model:** Acquired. The Browser Company raised $128 million total ($50M Series A at $550M valuation in March 2024, led by Pace Capital). Atlassian acquired the company for $610 million in cash in September 2025. Investors included Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn), Ev Williams (Medium), Dylan Field (Figma), and Jason Warner (GitHub). - **Business model:** Free product with no direct revenue model. The Browser Company's strategy was to build a large user base before monetizing. Under Atlassian ownership, the company is focused on Dia (the successor browser), not Arc Search. Arc Search has no monetization path. **Known issues:** Arc Search and Arc desktop are in maintenance mode — no new features are being developed. The Browser Company publicly stated in May 2025 that all engineering resources are focused on Dia. Atlassian acquired the company in September 2025, introducing uncertainty about long-term data handling, product direction, and whether Arc Search will eventually be sunset. 'Browse for Me' AI summaries can contain inaccuracies, merged facts, or miss critical context — this is inherent to AI summarization and is not unique to Arc but is especially important for journalists who might rely on these summaries. The product requires an internet connection for AI features (no offline fallback). iOS only for the mobile app; Android availability is limited. --- Canonical HTML: https://fieldwork.news/tools/arc-search Full dataset: https://fieldwork.news/llms-full.txt Methodology: https://fieldwork.news/methodology