How to Enable and Use Arc Sync in Arc Search Browser on iPhone

Arc Browser released the Arc Search for iPhone a couple of months ago when they introduced a revolutionizing new way to search on the Internet, with the promise to make it a full mobile browser in the coming months, with support for Sync as well. That day has now arrived. After shifting to Arc Sync from iCloud Sync, which allowed syncing between Arc on Mac and Windows devices, the feature is now available on the Arc Search app on iPhone as well.

This means that if you use Arc on multiple devices, you can have your Spaces and tabs on all the devices. While an Arc companion app for Mac already existed for iPhones which synced the sidebar from Mac, it was simply that, a companion app. And with the release of Arc Search, having two separate apps wasn't ideal. Now, the companion app would no longer be available.

Enable Arc Sync on iPhone

Enabling Arc Sync in Arc Search on iPhone is quite easy. I'm assuming you already have Arc Sync enabled on your Mac or Windows (whichever device you use). If not, you can use the instructions in the above guide to enable it.

Open Arc Search on your iPhone.
Swipe down on the keyboard to close it.
Then, tap the 'Tabs' icon in the bottom-left to open the Tab Switcher.

You'll find a 'Desktop' icon on the bottom-left now; tap on it.
Then, tap the 'Sign in with Arc' option and sign in to your Arc account.

Once you've signed in to your account, Arc Sync will take a few seconds to sync everything up. And that's it.

Accessing Your Desktop Tabs

Once Arc Sync is set up, your desktop tabs won't clutter up your Arc Tabs. Rather, they can be accessed separately.

To access your desktop tabs, open the 'Tab Switcher' again.
Then, tap the 'Desktop' icon.
All your Spaces, Pinned tabs, and any open tabs will be available. Tapping on a tab from your desktop tabs will open it as an Arc Search tab.

Note: Your Favorites are not synced with Arc Sync, nor are Profiles and History. Folders also do not show custom icons from Mac, yet.

Where did archived tabs go? With the Dekstop tabs now available from where you could previously access archived tabs on Arc Search, Archived Tabs have a new home.

Go to the 'Tab Switcher' in Arc Search.
Then, tap on the 'Settings' icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
You'll find the option for 'Archive' here.

Moving Tabs from Mobile to Desktop

With Arc Sync on iPhone, you cannot only access your desktop tabs on mobile. You can also move any tabs from your phone to your desktop.

Open the tab that you want to move to your desktop.
Then, tap the 'caret (^)' icon in the bottom-right corner.
A few options will appear. Tap the 'Pin' icon from the address bar.

A list of all your Spaces will appear. Choose where you want to pin the tab and tap on it. If you want to move the tab to a folder instead, tap on 'Pin to Folder'.
The list of all your Folders will appear. Tap the folder where you want to move it.

The tab will appear in the selected space/ folder on your desktop, with a nifty little mobile icon on it to indicate that you pinned the tab from your mobile.

To unpin it, either unpin it from the desktop or tap the 'Pin' icon from the mobile app again and unselect the Space/ Folder where you previously pinned it.

Arc Browser is one of my favorite browsers and it's great to see them getting closer to bringing Arc everywhere. While I'd love to see them bring it to the iPad next, they are reportedly setting their sights on Android for the future. The Browser Company of New York also plans to bring Arc for Windows out of Beta by next month and generally release it to everyone.