HTTP Sniffer for Android

Android Network Inspector — Overview

Android Network Inspector is a developer-focused utility that captures and examines network traffic on Android devices. It offers live monitoring of HTTP and HTTPS exchanges, letting developers and testers inspect request and response details — headers, payloads, and metadata — to diagnose issues quickly. The tool can target traffic per application, allowing fast isolation of problematic calls.

Core capabilities

• Decrypts TLS/SSL streams and manages certificates so encrypted requests and responses can be inspected.
• Filters network activity by specific apps to narrow down the scope of captured traffic.
• Simulates and mutates outgoing requests with configurable rules for on-device HTTP mocking.
• Performs real-time capture and analysis of HTTP/HTTPS packets, exposing headers and body content for debugging.
• Uses Android’s VPNService to intercept traffic transparently while preserving device-level privacy controls.

How interception and privacy are handled

The inspector leverages Android’s VPNService API to route device traffic through a local interception layer. This approach avoids requiring root access and keeps packet capture confined to the device. Certificate handling for HTTPS decryption is explicit: users install or trust a local certificate for analysis, and the tool provides controls to limit exposure of sensitive data during inspection.

Typical scenarios and benefits

• Debugging app network flows to pinpoint broken endpoints, malformed payloads, or incorrect headers.
• Verifying API behavior by stepping through requests and responses to confirm expected data and status codes.
• Analyzing network patterns and latency to identify performance bottlenecks or unreliable connections.
• Creating mock responses during development and testing to simulate backend behavior without changing server code.

Other options to consider

• SIM Info & Contacts — a lightweight utility for exporting SIM-stored contacts to vCard (free).
• Alternative network debugging apps and desktop proxies can complement on-device inspection, especially when you need cross-platform capture or integration with broader testing suites.