How to Switch from Chrome to Dia Browser in 2026: Import Bookmarks, Passwords, and Tabs

Arc Is Dead. Meet Dia.

If you are a Chrome user who has been meaning to switch to Arc Browser for years, here is the news: Arc is no longer actively developed. The Browser Company stopped all new feature work on Arc in May 2025 and pivoted entirely to building Dia, an AI-first browser designed from the ground up for 2026 and beyond. In September 2025, Atlassian acquired The Browser Company for a reported $610 million, and every engineer is now working on Dia.

Arc still works and receives security updates through Chromium, but it is effectively in maintenance mode. Dia launched publicly for Mac in October 2025 and has since become the most interesting Chrome alternative available.

Dia is not Arc 2.0. It takes Arc's best ideas — vertical tabs, a sidebar, the concept of spaces — and rebuilds them in a cleaner, more approachable interface. The signature feature is the URL bar, which doubles as an AI assistant. You can type a question, ask Dia to summarize your open tabs, upload a document for analysis, or search the web with AI-generated overviews, all without switching to a separate ChatGPT or Perplexity tab.

This guide covers everything you need to make a clean, complete switch from Chrome to Dia.

Prerequisites

• Google Chrome installed on your Mac (the source of your data)
• A Mac running macOS 13 Ventura or later (Dia currently requires macOS — Windows support is in beta)
• A Dia account (free to create at diabrowser.com)
• About 20–30 minutes

Note: Dia currently only imports passwords from Chrome, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, and Edge. Firefox users need to first export passwords to a Chrome-compatible format. Safari import support is coming soon.

Step 1: Prepare Chrome Before You Leave

Before switching browsers, spend a few minutes ensuring Chrome is in good shape. This makes the import into Dia cleaner and more complete.

Sync Everything to Your Google Account

1. Open Chrome and click your profile photo in the top-right corner.
2. If sync is not already on, click Turn on sync and sign in with your Google account.
3. Under Settings → You and Google → Sync and Google services, confirm that Bookmarks, Passwords, History, and Open Tabs are all enabled.

Syncing to your Google account creates a cloud-based backup of everything. Even after you switch to Dia, you can return to Chrome or access your data via Google Password Manager if needed.

Export Bookmarks as a Backup

Even though Dia imports bookmarks directly from Chrome, exporting a standalone backup is a smart precaution:

1. In Chrome, press ⌘ + Shift + O (or go to Bookmarks → Bookmark Manager).
2. Click the three-dot menu in the top right of the Bookmark Manager.
3. Select Export bookmarks.
4. Save the HTML file somewhere safe — your Desktop or Documents folder.

Note Your Important Pinned Tabs

Write down or screenshot your currently pinned tabs. During the import, Dia will offer to bring pinned tabs across, but having a manual record ensures nothing is missed during the transition.

Step 2: Download and Install Dia

1. Go to diabrowser.com and click Download for Mac.
2. Open the downloaded .dmg file and drag Dia to your Applications folder.
3. Launch Dia from Applications. macOS will ask if you want to open an app downloaded from the internet — click Open.
4. You will be prompted to create a Dia account or sign in. Create a free account using your email address. A Dia account enables cloud sync of your workspace across devices.

Step 3: Import Your Chrome Data

The import wizard appears during Dia's first-launch onboarding. If you already skipped through it, you can trigger it again at any time via Dia menu → Import from Another Browser.

Running the Import Wizard

1. On the import screen, select Google Chrome as your source browser.

2. Dia will show checkboxes for each data type it can import. Select all that apply:

   • Bookmarks — Your entire Chrome bookmark library, including folders
   • Saved passwords — All credentials stored in Chrome's password manager
   • Browsing history — Recent history for address bar autocomplete
   • Pinned tabs — Your currently pinned Chrome tabs arrive pinned in Dia

3. Click Import. For large bookmark libraries or password vaults (500+ entries), this may take 30–60 seconds.

What Gets Imported — and What Does Not

Imported successfully:

• Bookmarks with full folder structure preserved
• Saved passwords (username + password pairs)
• Browsing history (last 90 days)
• Pinned tabs (arrive pre-pinned in your Dia workspace)

Not imported:

• Chrome extensions (Dia uses Chromium's extension engine but you must reinstall extensions from the Chrome Web Store manually)
• Autofill data (addresses, credit cards) — these must be re-entered or use Dia's built-in AI to fill them from context
• Chrome theme customizations

Step 4: Get Oriented in Dia's Interface

Dia's interface is intentionally simpler than Chrome's, with a few key structural differences to understand before diving in.

The Sidebar

The left sidebar is your primary navigation. It shows:

• Pinned tabs at the top — persistent tabs that never close
• Today's tabs — your active browsing session
• Spaces — separate workspaces for different contexts (Work, Personal, Research)
• Notes — a lightweight scratch pad tied to your browsing

Click the sidebar toggle button (⌘ + S) to collapse or expand the sidebar. Full-screen mode hides the sidebar automatically and re-reveals it on hover.

The Omnibar (URL Bar + AI)

Dia's most distinctive feature is the Omnibar. It works as a standard address bar, but you can also:

• Type a question to get an AI-powered answer with web search context
• Ask "summarize my open tabs" to get a digest of what you have open
• Upload a file by dragging it into the Omnibar for AI analysis
• Use @commands — for example, type @gmail to search within Gmail directly

This AI functionality is powered by Claude (from Anthropic) and requires an internet connection. It is opt-in — you can use Dia as a standard browser without engaging the AI features at all.

Spaces for Separating Contexts

Spaces are one of Arc's best ideas, and Dia carries them forward. A Space is a separate browser environment with its own set of pinned tabs and browsing history. Create a Work space with Slack, Notion, and your project management tool pinned, and a Personal space with YouTube, your news feeds, and personal email. Switch between them instantly with ⌘ + 1, ⌘ + 2, etc.

To create a new Space:

1. Right-click the Spaces section in the sidebar.
2. Click New Space.
3. Name it and choose an icon color.
4. Start pinning tabs by right-clicking any tab and selecting Pin to Space.

Step 5: Reinstall Your Essential Chrome Extensions

Dia is built on Chromium, which means Chrome Web Store extensions work natively. Extensions do not transfer automatically — you need to reinstall them.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store at chromewebstore.google.com in Dia (it loads just fine).
2. Search for each extension you used in Chrome by name.
3. Click Add to Chrome — the button label says Chrome but the extension installs into Dia.

The most commonly reinstalled extensions after switching browsers:

• 1Password or Bitwarden (password manager)
• uBlock Origin (ad blocker — highly recommended even in Dia)
• Grammarly (writing assistant)
• Dark Reader (dark mode for all sites)
• Refined GitHub (GitHub power-user features)

Note: Dia has built-in ad blocking under Dia → Settings → Privacy. Enabling this may reduce the need for a separate extension-based blocker.

Step 6: Set Dia as Your Default Browser

1. Open System Settings → Desktop & Dock (or System Settings → General → Default web browser on some Tahoe builds).
2. Click the Default web browser dropdown.
3. Select Dia.

Alternatively, Dia will prompt you to set itself as the default browser after the onboarding wizard. You can also do this from within Dia at Dia menu → Settings → General → Set as Default Browser.

Step 7: Migrate Your Saved Passwords Properly

Passwords imported from Chrome appear in Dia's built-in password manager. However, this is a good opportunity to evaluate a dedicated password manager if you do not already use one — relying on a browser's built-in manager means your passwords leave with the browser if you ever switch again.

Using Dia's Built-In Password Manager

Imported passwords are accessible via Dia menu → Passwords or by clicking the key icon in the sidebar. They autofill on websites automatically, just as they did in Chrome.

Migrating to a Third-Party Password Manager (Recommended)

If you use 1Password, Bitwarden, or another standalone manager, export your Chrome passwords and import them into your password manager:

1. In Chrome, go to Settings → Autofill and passwords → Google Password Manager → Settings → Export passwords.
2. Chrome exports a CSV file. Import it into your password manager of choice (1Password: File → Import → Chrome CSV; Bitwarden: Tools → Import Data → Chrome).
3. Once imported and verified, delete the CSV file immediately — it contains all your passwords in plain text.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Bookmarks Did Not Import Completely

If folders are missing or bookmarks seem truncated, manually import the HTML backup file you exported in Step 1. In Dia, go to Dia menu → Import from Another Browser → Import bookmarks from file and select the HTML file.

Passwords Are Missing After Import

Ensure Chrome was signed into your Google account before the import so passwords were synced locally. If passwords are not in Chrome's local store, Dia cannot import them. Alternatively, export a CSV from Chrome's Password Manager (Settings → Passwords → Export) and import that file into Dia directly.

A Website Looks Wrong or Broken

Dia's Chromium version is typically one or two releases behind the latest Chrome. Most sites work identically, but a small number of sites that use very recent browser APIs may have issues. Report these in the Dia feedback form (Command palette → Send feedback). As a workaround, you can use Dia's Open in Chrome option by right-clicking the address bar.

Extensions Are Crashing or Not Working

Some Chrome extensions check for the browser's user agent string and may behave differently in Dia. Check the extension developer's changelog or support forum for Dia/Chromium compatibility notes. Most major extensions have updated for Dia compatibility by April 2026.

Dia Is Using Too Much Memory

Like Chrome, Dia uses separate processes per tab. Close unused tabs aggressively, or use Spaces to separate active from inactive contexts. Pinned tabs in inactive Spaces are suspended when you switch away, which reduces memory use significantly compared to leaving dozens of Chrome tabs open.

Dia's Limitations in 2026

It is worth being honest about where Dia falls short compared to Chrome:

• Windows support is in beta — the full-featured Dia experience is currently macOS-only. Windows users get a more limited version.
• Extension ecosystem lags slightly — about 95% of Chrome Web Store extensions work, but some have minor compatibility issues.
• AI features require internet — Dia's signature Omnibar AI features do not work offline.
• Enterprise features are still maturing — managed deployment features for IT teams are present but less polished than Chrome's enterprise management.

For most everyday users on a Mac, none of these are blockers. Dia's speed, AI integration, and spatial tab management genuinely make browsing feel more organized and efficient than Chrome's flat tab bar.

The switch from Chrome to Dia takes under an hour and is largely reversible — your Chrome data is still in Chrome, and your Google account sync preserves everything. If you have been waiting for the right moment to try something new, 2026 is it.