ARC

Help & support

For help with ARC, start with the frequently asked questions for requirements and availability.

Apple Music connection

Allow ARC to access Apple Music when prompted. If access was denied or revoked, review ARC's permission in System Settings, then return to the app to check the connection. Catalog playback also requires the appropriate Apple Music subscription.

Library refresh

Check your connection and Apple Music account, then use Refresh library in ARC's Apple Music status panel. Refreshing the library does not delete your saved Memory.

Search beyond your Library

Open Search to find songs, albums, artists, and playlists in Apple Music. Album, artist, and playlist results open their related details inside ARC; songs can play directly. You do not need to add a song to your personal Library first. Listening observed during Search playback can join Memory, and you can save a Moment while the song plays.

ARC retains your query, results, detail page, and browsing position during the current profile session, including when you close Search or start playback. A new search starts a new results page. Catalog availability depends on your Apple Music account and region.

Open a Chapter

Open Chapters from the Memory heading. Browse Weeks, Months, or Years, then select a completed period to enter its full-screen film. Browsing alone does not start a film or take over your music. Chapters never sends pop-up reminders.

Stories come from listening recorded by ARC on this device and saved Moments. Moments, Listening Days, Albums Revisited, and Listening Rhythms remain available as four separate collections. Chapters is a viewing experience derived from those local records, and reflects their edits and deletions.

Why a period may have no film

Chapters covers completed Monday–Sunday weeks, calendar months, and calendar years. Each period needs at least one saved Moment, or three distinct qualified songs across two recorded dates. A listening event qualifies after at least 30 seconds of observed playback. The current period is still in progress; periods with too few records are omitted.

ARC does not import your complete Apple Music listening history or fill in unrecorded days. Songs, album returns, Moments, late-hour and other clock-time scenes, and most-listened song and album rankings appear only where your records support them. The same source records and algorithm version preserve the same edit.

Chapter music and your connection

Entering a film saves and pauses your original playback before preparing its music. Chapter music uses recorded songs through Apple Music; catalog playback needs permission, the appropriate subscription, and songs available to your account and region. Song lookup, artwork loading, and streaming may require internet access.

Use Sound: Off for silent viewing; your original queue stays paused until you leave. If opening music cannot prepare, the film can continue silently. Buffering or unavailable songs do not stop the visual story, and ARC does not promise seamless audio mixing or fully offline music playback.

On exit, ARC restores your original queue, position, playback state, and repeat/shuffle settings. If restoration fails, use the retry offered by ARC. This return point lasts for the session, not across a force-quit. Chapter music does not add ordinary ARC listening records, and private Voice notes never play automatically.

A Chapter is played in real time inside ARC. It cannot be downloaded as an MP4 or exported as a video with music for social sharing.

Change the app language

Click the ARC mark at the top left to open Settings, then choose Language. Follow system uses your system or app language preference. Or select English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Français, Deutsch, or Español.

The change takes effect after restarting ARC. On Mac, choose Restart now or Later; Later keeps the choice for the next launch. Original song, album, and artist names and your own notes stay in their original wording.

Replay a saved Moment

Open a Moment and choose Replay this moment to return with a short lead-in to its saved point. Ordinary playback does not automatically pop up past Moments. Voice-note playback is always your choice.

Keep your Memory safe

Use Export Memory and Import Memory in ARC Settings to move an archive manually. Include Voice notes starts off; select it explicitly only when you want the recordings included. No ARC account is required; registration, sign-in, and cloud sync are not available. Store archives privately and retain the original until you have confirmed the imported data. If ARC reports a persistence error, keep the original files and use the retry or recovery options; do not erase your data to dismiss an error.

Local-first storage is not a zero-loss guarantee. A force-quit, power loss, or damaged device can lose unsaved progress. Keep private backups somewhere you control.

Contact

Email [email protected] with questions about ARC. This opens your email app; the website itself does not collect support requests. No response-time commitment is currently offered.

Reporting an issue

Include your ARC version, macOS version, and the steps that led to the issue. Avoid sending Memory archives, recordings, credentials, or personal library screenshots unless needed and explicitly requested.