Arc Search: reviews and analysis

TLDR: Arc Search is a free mobile browser from The Browser Company that blocks ads and trackers by default and answers with Browse for Me, a feature that opens several real pages and cites every source. It costs nothing and sells no upgrade plan, though the company has shifted its active development to Dia, its desktop browser, so new features land at a slower pace than before. If you search from your phone and want an answer with the sources in view without paying or signing up, it delivers. If you need fine-grained configuration or a desktop browser, look elsewhere.

What Arc Search is and how it works

Arc Search is the mobile search app from The Browser Company, the New York outfit now owned by Atlassian after the acquisition closed in October 2025. It launched in January 2024 as the pocket sibling of the desktop Arc browser, but since the company moved its development focus to Dia, its new desktop browser, Arc Search has ended up being the product that stays alive and keeps shipping occasional updates while the desktop side changes direction. Worth keeping the two apart: this review covers the mobile app, which was still receiving new features as of this sweep, not the desktop browser that no longer gets the same push.

The app works like a regular browser with two extra layers on top. The first is automatic blocking of ads, trackers and cookie banners on any page you open, no extension to install and no setting to flip. The second is Browse for Me, the feature that answers questions by opening five to seven real pages, pulling out what matters from each one, and building a fresh answer with the sources cited and ready to open in separate tabs. It is not a summary pulled out of thin air: when you ask something, you can see where every piece of it came from.

It ships on iOS and Android, and that is where it stops. There is no desktop version of its own, no sync with a desktop browser, and no iPad app, so if your workflow spans several larger screens, this tool only covers one piece of it.

What it’s like to use day to day

The entry point is the address bar, which doubles as a search field and a question box. For a regular query, the app still returns links with no ads and no tracking, already a real upgrade over searching straight from your phone’s default browser. For a question that deserves a fuller answer, Browse for Me kicks in: you type the question, the app goes off to read several pages on its own, and within seconds it puts together an answer with sections and cited sources sitting right next to it, each one a tap away if you want to check it.

The friction shows up on more complex queries. An independent review we checked describes cases where the summary mixes in figures that do not quite line up with the source it cites, for example on long lists of award winners or data that shifts often. It is not that the feature is lying on purpose, it is that like any auto-generated summary, it pays to open the cited source before treating a number as settled for anything that matters. The app makes that easy, since the source sits one tap away, so the habit of double-checking costs you almost nothing.

One more thing worth knowing about daily use: Browse for Me sends your query to an OpenAI model for processing, according to an independent technical review. If you are searching for something sensitive and would rather it not leave the app toward a third party, this is not the tool for that moment, though the same is true of most assistants in this segment, none of which train their own model from scratch either. The app also adds a pinch gesture over any page to summarize it on the spot and a voice search button, two additions that cut down on typing on a phone without changing how the core works.

The learning curve is close to zero. There are no lenses to configure and no domains to tune the way Kagi lets you: you open the app, type, and you are done. That simplicity is a plus if you would rather not spend time on settings, and a limit if you would and cannot find them here.

Pricing and plans

Arc Search is free, no fine print. There is no subscription, no upgrade plan, and no in-app purchase of any kind: confirmed both on the app’s public store listing and in the data Apple publishes about the product itself. In a segment where Kagi starts at $5 a month and Perplexity at $20, a free option that still cites its sources is worth pointing out.

What matters here is not the price, it is continuity. The company has put its product energy into Dia, so Arc Search runs on occasional updates rather than a steady drumbeat of new features. It keeps working and keeps improving, just not at the pace you would expect if it were the company’s top priority.

Who it’s for (and who it’s not)

Arc Search fits anyone who searches mostly from their phone and wants an answer with the sources in view without paying anything or creating an account. It also fits anyone who already treats their phone as their main search device and is tired of ads and cookie banners on every page they open.

It is not the pick if you need a desktop browser, cross-device sync, or an iPad app, because none of the three exist here. It is not the pick either if you want fine control over which sources carry more weight in your results, something Kagi does offer through its lenses and per-domain tuning in exchange for a monthly fee. And if what you want is a fuller answer and you are willing to pay for it, the direct comparison sits in our Perplexity review.

Arc Search alternatives

If price is what matters most, Andi is the segment’s other free option: no account, no ads, and the source always in view, though its default answer usually stays an extract from a single page rather than the multi-source synthesis Browse for Me builds. For anyone who would rather pay for full control over results, Kagi remains the reference. You can see the full lineup, with each one’s score, in our AI search engines guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Arc Search really free, or is there a catch?

It is free with no catch: no account required, no ads shown, and no in-app purchase of any kind, which we confirmed directly against the data Apple publishes about the product.

Is it the same thing as the desktop Arc browser?

No. Arc Search is the mobile app, and it is still alive and updated. The desktop Arc browser is no longer the company’s development focus, which now sits with Dia, so do not assume what applies to one applies to the other.

Can I fully trust Browse for Me’s answers?

Not as a final source. Always open the cited link before treating a figure as settled, especially on queries involving numbers or long lists, where an independent review has spotted inaccuracies.

Does it work on iPad or on a computer?

No. It only exists for iPhone and Android, with no desktop version, no iPad app, and no sync with any desktop browser.

Where does my search go when I use Browse for Me?

The query gets processed by an OpenAI model under the hood, according to an independent technical review. If a particular search is sensitive to you, keep that in mind before using the feature.