Charles Proxy is the classic way to debug iPhone traffic. The setup is also familiar: run Charles on a Mac, point the iPhone’s Wi-Fi proxy at it, install the Charles certificate, and keep both devices on the same network. HTTPS Capture moves that workflow onto the iPhone. If you want to look at an app’s requests on the train, on cellular, or with no laptop nearby, here is how the familiar Charles features map over.
Feature map: Charles vs. HTTPS Capture
| Charles Proxy | HTTPS Capture on iPhone |
|---|---|
| SSL Proxying | Built-in CA with a guided three-step trust flow |
| Map Local | Request Map: return a local status, headers and body (guide) |
| Map Remote | Map Remote: send matching requests to another host, port, scheme or path (guide) |
| Rewrite | URL Rewrite: edit headers and bodies, block or redirect (guide) |
| Breakpoints | Breakpoint: pause, edit, pass or drop (guide) |
| DNS Spoofing | Hosts: map a domain to an IP, keeping the original SNI (guide) |
| Repeat / Compose | Resend, Edit & Send and a saved request library (guide) |
| Export session | HAR export of a whole session or a single request (guide) |
| Include / exclude lists | URL Filter whitelist and blacklist |
It also covers several jobs that would need a separate tool next to Charles:
- JavaScript scripts that modify matched requests and responses (guide)
- Server Replay: turn a recorded session or HAR into an offline mock backend (guide)
- AES decryption of encrypted bodies in the detail view (guide)
- DNS query capture, JA3/JA4 TLS fingerprints, and a request comparison view
Advantages of capturing on the device
- No network dependency: it works on cellular and on any Wi-Fi network, because no proxy settings are involved.
- Per-app attribution: each request shows which app sent it.
- Always with you: start from a Home Screen quick action or the Control Center toggle, and watch progress in the Dynamic Island.
- Private: everything is parsed and stored on the iPhone.
When Charles is still the better tool
On a big screen you can read huge JSON bodies more easily, and Charles has years of plugins behind it. The two tools work well together. Capture on the iPhone wherever the bug happens, then export a HAR file and open it in Charles on your desk. If you already have a Charles CA that your test devices trust, export it from Charles as .p12 and use Import Custom CA in HTTPS Capture, so you don’t need to trust a second certificate.
Capturing other devices, too
HTTPS Capture can also act as a proxy for other devices, the way Charles does. Turn on LAN Capture, then point another phone or computer on the same Wi-Fi at the iPhone’s address. See capture another device’s traffic through iPhone.
Getting started
Follow how to capture HTTPS traffic on iPhone. Setup takes about a minute.
Ready to try it?
HTTPS Capture · Capture and decrypt HTTPS traffic on iPhone
Free on the App Store