The Arc browser has steadily been gaining attention since its launch in 2022 for Apple devices originally, and now, it’s about to get some neat new capabilities, including its own native ad blocker and tracking prevention.
Arc is Chromium-based and only recently came to Windows 11 (after debuting on Macs and iOS), and the developer, The Browser Company, is trying to win over users of the most popular and best web browsers (the likes of Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge) by offering a competitive and hopefully better browsing experience.
An experience that’ll be further improved by the arrival of the mentioned features, which were revealed as part of a recent email announcing an ‘Early Bird’ program for Arc (as shared by Neowin). This is a community of testers who’ll try out the latest (preview) versions of Arc and provide feedback to help improve any features ahead of their final release. Essentially, it’s similar to Microsoft’s own Insider Programs for the likes of Edge (and Windows, of course).
In this email, the Arc developer proclaimed that it wants to build a ‘cleaner internet’ with fewer popups, ads, and banners to make it easier to focus on what you’re actually doing in the browser. The Browser Company mentions Chrome’s transition to Manifest V3 as the motivation for this update, and that the ad blocker feature is still in development, but clarifies that it’s coming soon.
Manifest V3 is a major update to Chrome’s extension platform that will change how browser extensions interact with web pages. In particular, it will restrict the capabilities of certain extensions, including their ability to block ads and modify the contents of a page.
As Arc is built on Google’s Chromium engine, Manifest V3 will affect the browser, and this is why Arc’s developer mentions keeping the browser “clear of the clutter” with its own integrated ad blocker that won’t be affected by Manifest V3.
Want to get in early with new Arc features?
The new ad blocking and tracking prevention features are not available yet, but if you’re keen to try them as soon as they land, you can sign up for Arc’s Early Bird program. Because these features will still be in testing when they arrive, their implementation might change ahead of their debut to the general public in the finished version of Arc.
If you’d like to enrol in the Early Bird program click on this link, then click ‘Join our next cohort’ and you’ll be prompted to provide some details, such as your Arc account info and the level of your technical knowledge. Otherwise, you can wait for these exciting new features to arrive when they’re deemed ready for general release.
We’ve tried Arc for ourselves and we’ve been impressed by what we’ve seen so far. It offers plenty of built-in apps and features, aiming to be like a sort of operating system for web browsing, as it were. The developer puts the emphasis on trying to create a clean, calm interface, and it shows in Arc’s thoughtful design. If your curiosity is piqued and you want to try an alternative to mainstream browsers, you can check out Arc for yourself.
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