Arc profiles in the Mac Dock: what works today

Chrome Profile Switcher supports Arc, but with an honest limit. When Arc has one profile, the Dock icon works fully: click it to bring Arc’s windows forward, even from another desktop or display. When Arc has several profiles, the app cannot yet tell their windows apart, and fixing that is on the roadmap.

Why Arc profiles share one Dock icon

The macOS Dock shows one icon per running app. Arc is one app, so however you organize it, everything sits behind one Arc icon. Arc groups tabs into Spaces, and a Space can use its own profile, which is a common way to keep work and personal logins apart. From the Dock, though, you still get one icon for all of it.

How Chrome Profile Switcher handles Arc

For Chrome, Brave, Edge and Vivaldi, the app matches windows to profiles by reading the profile name at the end of each window title. Arc does not show the profile name in its window titles, so that method does not work.

Here is what that means in practice:

• One Arc profile. Every Arc window belongs to that profile, so the icon is reliable. Click to bring Arc forward, click again to cycle windows. Hover to see its windows in a panel, including windows on other desktops. Right-click for the window list, New Window and New Incognito Window.
• Several Arc profiles. The app cannot yet say which window belongs to which profile, so it cannot give each profile a correct icon of its own.

Better matching for Arc, Opera and Dia with several profiles is listed under Now on the public roadmap. As of 29 September 2026, the other Dock profile icon apps we know of do not attribute Arc windows to profiles either; see the comparison hub.

Each profile icon is a tiny launcher app (about 2 MB) in ~/Applications/Chrome Profiles. It is not a second copy of Arc, so logins and extensions stay as they are, and no second browser runs in memory.

Set it up for Arc

1. Download Chrome Profile Switcher. It is free during the beta: a short form, then the DMG downloads right away.
2. Open the app. The first time, macOS may say it cannot check the app. Go to System Settings, Privacy and Security, and click Open Anyway, once.
3. Turn on Accessibility when asked. That is the one switch the app needs.
4. Open an Arc window.
5. The Arc icon with its badge appears in the Dock next to Arc’s normal icon. You can keep it there with right-click, Options, Keep in Dock.

Limits with Arc

• Several profiles are not told apart yet. This is the main limit, and it is on the roadmap under Now.
• Spaces are not profiles. The app does not make a separate icon per Space.
• Command Tab. Command Tab still shows one Arc.

If you use several Arc profiles today

You have a few honest options while matching improves:

• Keep Arc as it is and use the app for your other browsers. Chrome, Brave, Edge and Vivaldi profiles are matched fully, and Firefox based browsers are matched by process. See all supported browsers.
• Watch the changelog. The app installs updates by itself, so the improvement will reach you without a new download.
• Send a feature request from the roadmap page so we know how many Arc users are waiting.

Questions about permissions or privacy are covered on the answers page.