Arc 'mobile browser' is now available on Android

  The Browser Company launches Arc Search on Android

Arc’s ‘better mobile browser’ is now available on Android. The Browser Company, the startup behind the alternative web browser Arc, announced it’s launching Arc Search browser on Android in open beta in a move to become a cross-platform app. The Arc Search app is taking on Chrome on Google’s platform with a beta version of its browser which blocks ads by default and summarizes search results for you. After months of waiting, now Android users can take the Arc Search app for a spin. It’s now available as an open beta on the Google Play Store after developers teased an Android version of the app in August.

Arc, already had apps in the Apple ecosystem until last year, then launched a Windows client in April ahead of launching on Android. The company said it tested the Arc Search for Android with 18,000 users for nearly four weeks in a closed beta program before public debut. Arc is The Browser Company’s take on web browsing, billing itself as offering better customization options than competitors. The Arc Search app also comes with an AI feature, called “Browse for me,” that searches the web for your query and comes up with a summary based on its sources.

The company launched Arc Search for iPhone earlier this year with search as a central focus. The app’s “Browse for Me” feature, which is also included in the Android version, looks at multiple web pages and builds a new page for you for the search query. Arc browser adds security bulletins and bug bounties. The app also automatically archives old tabs, blocks ads by default, and gets rid of data-tracking popups, which has me tempted to switch away from Edge. While Arc initially launched as a Mac-only desktop browser, the Arc Search app launched widely for iOS devices in January and on Windows in April.

The company’s premise for this has been that for things like finding a recipe, you need to go through a lot of content while not finding important information. With “Browse for Me,” an AI-powered algorithm weeds out the noise and presents relevant information. The Browser Company cofounder and CEO Josh Miller said he plans to launch a paid product which will apply “additional functionality on top” of the app. “We really think of Arc Search as the companion app to the desktop product... but the intention of Arc Search: it is the mobile browser to the desktop browser,” Miller said.

However, people have criticized Arc Search’s approach by pointing out that AI-search would harm small websites whose content these tools are summarizing. In a recent episode of the Decoder podcast, The Browser Company CEO Josh Miller said that the company is improving citations on these results to make people click on outbound links more. “We’re also having a bunch of conversations with media companies right now. At the end of the day, I think media companies and publishers need to get paid. And I think the truth is, as you know, the scale of that will not mean that it works for everybody, but we are trying our best behind the scenes and out front to be better here,” Miller said.

At launch, the Android version doesn’t have some features of Arc Search for iOS, including pinch to summarize and call to ask. According to analytics firm Sensor Tower, users have downloaded Arc Search on iOS 1.6 million times. The Android app also has an ad-blocker for ads, popups and banners, along with a tab auto-archiving feature. The company said it will mark the Android app as generally available sometime this fall. Earlier this year, The Browser Company raised $50 million at a $550 million valuation. However, the company is not generating any revenue at the moment. Miller also hinted that when the company releases its 2.0 products, it will charge businesses and individuals.