Arc Search vs BrowserOS

Arc Search is a free browser centered on Browse for Me, which searches multiple pages and produces an answer on a custom webpage. Its built-in blocker is described as stopping ads, trackers, pop-ups, and cookie banners. Other features include reader mode, incognito mode, website translation, and voice search. Inactive tabs are archived automatically, with help documentation listing intervals from 12 hours to 30 days. Browse for Me is the default search option; alternatives include Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Perplexity, and Kagi. Arc Sync can share desktop Spaces, pinned tabs, and Today tabs with Arc Search on iOS, but is unavailable on Android, and tabs created in Arc Search do not sync back to desktop. The maker says Browse for Me sends command-bar and search-result content to OpenAI to generate summaries. Arc Search supports iOS 16 or later and Android 10 or later. The maker also says Sync sidebar data uses end-to-end encryption, but the product is not currently SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified and does not offer account MFA.

BrowserOS is an open-source Chromium-based browser with AI agents for carrying out web tasks from natural-language directions. The agents can navigate, click, type, fill forms, extract data, and run workflows across multiple steps. Chat Mode answers questions about the page in view; visual Graph Mode for repeatable workflows is marked as coming soon. BrowserOS supports Gemini, Claude, OpenAI, and local models through Ollama or LM Studio. Its maker lists more than 40 MCP app integrations, including Gmail, Slack, Notion, and Calendar, as well as 53 built-in browser tools. An included MCP server connects with Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or Codex. As a Chromium fork, it supports Chrome extensions and import of Chrome bookmarks, passwords, and settings. Browsing data stays on-device unless cloud syncing is enabled; syncing is off by default, and synced activity is encrypted on BrowserOS servers. BrowserOS says it does not store or log AI prompts or responses, though providers may handle submitted data under their own policies. It is free and licensed under AGPL-3.0.