My Arc browser Work profile is associated with a Space named Work.

Jack Wallen

Arc browser has been my default on MacOS for nearly a year now and I've never once regretted the change. Arc includes the best tab management on the market, the most modern UI of any browser, and plenty of other features that help it stand out from the browser pack.

I want to focus on one feature in particular -- it's a feature offered by some browsers (such as Firefox) that is often overlooked by users. The feature in question: profiles.

What are profiles? Let's say you use Arc for both personal web surfing and work. You might use the same services -- say, Google Workspace -- for both home and work but have different Google accounts for each. Instead of logging into your personal Google account for one task, logging out, logging in with your Google work account, and then taking care of another task, you could create separate profiles for Personal and Work. In the Personal profile, log in with your personal Google account; in the Work profile, log in with your work account. Those two profiles will not communicate with one another or exchange data. 

Also: Arc browser creator believes it's time to move on from Chrome - and I agree

With profiles you can isolate history, logins, cookies, and extensions, essentially giving you multiple instances of the same browser for different purposes.

Arc does approach profiles a bit differently than other browsers. Instead of creating multiple profiles and then selecting between them when needed, you associate a profile with a Space. Because of this, you'll want to make sure to first create a space that will work with the new profile. For example, you could create a Space named Work and then associate it with the new Work profile. This means you work with different profiles from the same window, making it a very efficient experience.

Another thing that sets the Arc browser profile feature apart from the competition is the ability to customize each profile so they can behave exactly how you need them -- andthat's something other browsers cannot do. 

First, I'll remind you how to create a new profile in Arc browser; then I'll show you how to customize it. 

How to create a new profile

What you'll need: The only thing you'll need for this is a running instance of the Arc desktop browser (which is available for both MacOS and Windows). 

1. Open Arc Settings

The first thing to do open Arc browser, which I assume you've already done, since you're reading this article. Once the browser is open, click Arc > Settings to open the Settings tab. 

2. Select the Profiles tab

Next, click the Profiles tab at the top of the Settings window.

I started using the Arc browser on July 29, 2023.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen

Also: Why Arc is my browser of choice for using AI tools

3. Create a new profile

Click the + button at the bottom left corner of the "Your profiles" pane. In the resulting pop-up, give the new profile a name (such as "Work"). Click Next and then select a space to use the profile. After you've done that, click Create Profile and you're done. Arc will automatically switch to the Space for which you've assigned the Profile. 

Not only can you create a new profile, but you can also configure how each one behaves.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen

How to customize your profile

As you can see, in the image above, the default profile is set up with a specific search engine, a defined period of time to archive tabs, how to create new documents, and even the download location.

When you create a new profile in Arc, you can select the profile in Settings > Profiles, and then customize it to meet your needs. For example, I can leave my personal profile search engine set to Google but then change the Work profile search engine to DuckDuckGo. I might also want to make sure tabs aren't archived until after 7 days and even select a different app (such as Office or Notion) for new documents. I might want to leave the Downloads folder as the default for my Personal profile but change the Downloads folder for the Work profile to Documents. 

Be sure to select the profile you want to alter from the list in the left panebeforeyou start making changes. Once you've made the changes, close the Settings window, change to your new profile, and you'll see the customized settings have been applied. 

Also: 5 ways Arc browser makes browsing the web fun again

Another great thing about this feature is that it's so very easy to use. To switch to the new profile, simply switch right or left in the Spaces area until you land on the Space associated with the new profile. Arc will automatically switch to the correct Profile and you're good to go.

This customization feature alone sets Arc's implementation of profiles well above rival browsers. For anyone who needs to get very specific about how different profiles behave, Arc has you covered. 

If you have multiple accounts for the same service (for both work and personal reasons), the Arc Profiles feature is a great way to isolate and protect data from cross-pollinating or being used by another site. It's an easy way to add an extra layer of privacy to your browsing without having to add extra steps or open separate windows.

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