Now you just need to pinch a web page to summarize it!

The Arc Search mobile browser, available on the App Store and running using the engineWebKit, has just received a new update for equipped iPhones. Numbered 1.2.0, this does not allow “pinch to zoom” (the famouspinch to zoom) more than “pinch to summarize“. Understand that thanks to embedded artificial intelligence, the app allows you to obtain a condensed version of an article currently reading, thanks to this simple gesture. The result, which we of course took the time to test, is particularly satisfactory. On its site, the developer explains in particular usingOpenAIto run its platform.

It is therefore good to remember that, as is often the case with this type of value proposition, the results provided by the summary must be considered with caution. We know that ChatGPT, the OpenAI app based on artificial intelligence and with which it is possible to communicate, sometimes provides erroneous information. For academic or professional work, it is therefore better to continue summarizing your articles yourself.

Arc Search is available now if you have around 90MB of storage space on your iPhone. Please note, however, that mobiles running versions of the operating system prior to iOS 16 are not eligible for the installation of this third-party browser.

Arc Search is also not available on iPad touch tablets at this time. It's unclear when this will be the case, or if it's in the works.

Scan any website on the go
🤏 Pinch to Summarize
Now live in Arc Search!pic.twitter.com/OrSXj77oDO
— The Browser Company (@browsercompany)February 22, 2024

A little more privacy

At the same time, the developers of the Arc Search mobile browser explain having added the option “private browsing” to the application. It is, as its name suggests, an equivalent to the “private window” found for example on Safari. By visiting websites under the cover of this functionality, you ensure that your history will not be saved. Please note, however, that this is not a guarantee of inviolable confidentiality, since your internet service provider remains able to identify the pages you have consulted. To better protect themselves, some do not hesitate to usea virtual private network (VPN), but here again zero risk does not exist in the face of increased and very competent surveillance.

Let us also point out that the Arc Search browser is not necessarily the best student when it comes to respecting your privacy. We thus see, on its official App Store sheet, that it is mentioned that the app can identify your geolocation in real time and collect data allowing you to be identified. Just to clarify, let's note that it's hard to imagine how an alternative like Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome could also display our everyday websites without these advantages. The two solutions, alongside Microsoft Edge and the native iPhone solution, are positioned at the top of the global market share rankings.

Arc Search and Safari: ultimately, not so different?

One of the main features of Arc highlighted by its editor is that which allows you to create different working environments, in the form ofspacesandprofiles(we translated the name of the options from English). But sinceupdating to iOS 17published last September in final version, Safari, Apple's proprietary browser installed automatically on all iPhones, is also entitled to this very practical solution for those who manage, for example, several projects at the same time.

Arc Search, on the other hand, is customizable as desired: users can notably change the color of the app's background. Which is clearly not possible with Safari, despite Apple's recent efforts in terms of customization (since iOS 14, you can install widgets on the iOS home screen).

Quiche Browseris another third-party browser that allows you to change the color of its interface; feel free to take a look there as well.