Zen Browser May Be the Arc Replacement You’re Looking For

An alternative to Arc

Atlassian bought Arc’s company last year and shifted its attention to Dia, a browser with a stronger focus on AI. Arc is expected to be discontinued, leaving its users to consider other options.

O’Brien says he moved to Zen some time ago. The browsers look similar, with pinned sites, tabs along the left, separate spaces and mods for changing the interface. He describes Zen as retaining Arc’s appealing design while feeling less bloated.

A simpler, privacy-minded browser

Zen does not have an AI agent in a sidebar, and O’Brien says he is not concerned that it will train a language model on his browsing activity. He presents it as a straightforward web browser.

Zen describes itself as privacy-focused. O’Brien cautions that online activity is never fully private, but says Arc made him feel that user data was central to its business model. Zen, by contrast, is free and open source, and depends on volunteers and donations.

Tools for tabs and extensions

Zen supports Firefox extensions and offers Zen Mods, which can adjust details such as active tabs or change how picture-in-picture video works. O’Brien says extensions have worked better for him in Zen than in Arc, though some display problems remain in both browsers.

Opening a link in Zen can bring it up in a temporary “glance” view, with an option to move it into a regular tab. A floating bar opened with Command+T or CTRL+T can create or switch tabs, search with a chosen engine, or launch an extension.

Limits and remaining gaps

Zen currently cannot play DRM-protected video, so services including Netflix, Spotify, HBO and Disney+ do not work. The Zen Team is seeking a Widevine license from Google. O’Brien uses Chrome when he wants to watch a movie.

Because Zen is built on Firefox, its Web MIDI support is limited, prompting O’Brien to use Chrome for some tasks. He also misses Arc’s Boosts. Zen added a similar feature in May, but he says it is difficult to find and may require users to adjust individual sites themselves.

O’Brien says Zen has improved since its buggy early builds. He suggests Dia for people who want Arc’s AI features, while describing Zen as a better fit for his own preference for Arc’s interface.