How to Detect Local Proxies in Mobile Apps Using AI

Last updated March 13, 2025 by Appdome

This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect Local Proxies in Mobile apps.

What Are Local Proxies?

Local proxies are intermediary services running on a device that intercepts and modify network traffic between a mobile app and the internet. They are often used for debugging, traffic monitoring, or performance testing but can also be exploited by attackers to intercept sensitive data, bypass app security controls, or inject malicious payloads. Common local proxies include tools like Burp Suite, Charles Proxy, and Fiddler, which can decrypt HTTPS traffic using custom certificates, enabling attackers to perform Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks, steal credentials, or manipulate transactions. Malicious actors use local proxies to bypass SSL pinning, inspect encrypted data, or reroute traffic to fraudulent servers, making them a significant security risk for mobile apps. Detecting and blocking unauthorized local proxies is essential for maintaining data integrity, preventing fraud, and ensuring compliance with security standards like PCI DSS and GDPR.

How Appdome Protects Against Local Proxies

Appdome’s dynamic Detect Local Proxies plugin for Android and iOS apps prevents unauthorized traffic interception by identifying and blocking local proxies used for network manipulation. The plugin detects tools like Burp Suite, Charles Proxy, and Fiddler by monitoring SSL/TLS handshake anomalies, custom CA certificates, and unauthorized network rerouting attempts. Once a local proxy is detected, Appdome can trigger enforcement actions such as blocking connections, terminating the session, or notifying the app. This ensures real-time protection against data interception and network-based attacks without requiring developer modifications.

Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Detect Local Proxies Plugins:

To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Local Proxies , you’ll need:

How to Implement Detect Local Proxies in Mobile Apps Using Appdome

On Appdome, follow these simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Detect Local Proxies without an SDK or gateway:

  1. Designate the Mobile App to be protected.

    1. Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.

    2. Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
    3. Detect Local Proxies is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
  2. Select the defense: Detect Local Proxies.

      1. Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Detect Local Proxies feature as shown below:
        fusion set that contains Detect Local Proxies

        Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect Local Proxies feature

      2. Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Detect Local Proxies feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.

      3. When you enable Proxy Detection you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Detect Local Proxies.

        Fusion Set applied Detect Local Proxies

        Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect Local Proxies protection
        Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory).

      4. Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below): fusion Set Detail Summary image

        Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary

      5. Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
        1. Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
        2. Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
    1. Add the Detect Local Proxies feature to your security template.

      1. Navigate to Build > Security tab > Secure Communication section in the Appdome Console.
      2. Toggle On Proxy Detection > Detect Local Proxies.
        Note: The checkmark feature Detect Local Proxies is enabled by default, as shown below. Detect Local Proxies option

        Figure 4: Selecting Detect Local Proxies

    2. Initiate the build command either by clicking Build My App at the bottom of the Build Workflow (shown in Figure 4) or via your CI/CD as described in Section 2.1.4.
    Congratulations!  The Detect Local Proxies protection is now added to the mobile app
  3. Certify the Detect Local Proxies feature in Mobile Apps

    After building Detect Local Proxies, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Detect Local Proxies protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Detect Local Proxies protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below: Detect Local Proxies shown in Certificate secure

    Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate

    Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Detect Local Proxies has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Detect Local Proxies and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.

Using Threat-Events™ for Local Proxies Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps

Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Local Proxies are detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Local Proxies in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Local Proxies shown below.

The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Local Proxies are:

Threat-Event™ Elements Detect Local Proxies Method Detail
Appdome Feature Name Detect Local Proxies
Threat-Event Mode
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging.
ON, IN-APP DETECTION Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce).
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection).
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check x
Visible in ThreatScope™ x
Developer Parameters for Detecting Local Proxies Threat-Event™
Threat-Event NAME
Threat-Event DATA reasonData
Threat-Event CODE reasonCode
Threat-Event REF
Threat-Event SCORE
currentThreatEventScore Current Threat-Event score
threatEventsScore Total Threat-events score
Threat-Event Context Keys
message Message displayed for the user on event
failSafeEnforce Timed enforcement against the identified threat
externalID The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events
osVersion OS version of the current device
deviceModel Current device model
deviceManufacturer The manufacturer of the current device
fusedAppToken The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app
kernelInfo Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine.
carrierPlmn PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices.
deviceID Current device ID
reasonCode Reason code of the occurred event
buildDate Appdome fusion date of the current application
devicePlatform OS name of the current device
carrierName Carrier name of the current device. Only available for Android.
updatedOSVersion Is the OS version up to date
deviceBrand Brand of the device
deviceBoard Board of the device
buildUser Build user
buildHost Build host
sdkVersion Sdk version
timeZone Time zone
deviceFaceDown Is the device face down
locationLong Location longitude conditioned by location permission
locationLat Location latitude conditioned by location permission
locationState Location state conditioned by location permission
wifiSsid Wifi SSID
wifiSsidPermissionStatus Wifi SSID permission status
threatCode The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device.

With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Mobile developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Mobile applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Local Proxies are detected.


The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Detect Local Proxies:


Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.



Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Detect Local Proxies. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.

Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Detect Local Proxies

After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:

Related Articles:

How to Detect Deep Proxy in Android & iOS Apps

How to Block SSL Pinning Bypass in Android Apps

How to Enforce Secure Certificate Pinning in Android & iOS Apps

How Do I Learn More?

If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.

Thank you!

Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.

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