Install Charles Root Certificate on iPhone

In an earlier article, we discussed how you can use Charles on computer to monitor the network traffic on iPhone iPad. Capturing HTTP network traffic from iPhone using Charles on your computer is easy. Run the Proxy program on your PC or Mac, configure HTTP proxy from iPhone settings to use Charles as its HTTP proxy so you can record network traffic from the iOS device. To capture HTTPS network traffic from iPhone iPad however requires the Charles certificate to be installed on the iOS device.

Once your iPhone is connected to Charles Proxy on your computer, go to download the Charles Proxy Certificate from http://www.charlesproxy.com/getssl or chls.pro/ssl using a web browser on your iPhone or iPad. You will see a warning as below.

download Charles proxy certificate from website to iphone
download Charles proxy certificate from website to iphone

Tap Allow to download Charles Root Certificate on iPhone.

You can also choose to download the Charles certificate from Charles website to your computer. It will be saved as a .pem file. Send the certificate from Mac to your iPhone or iPad via AirDrop.

After that open Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, click General > Profiles to find the downloaded profile/certificate. Tap the Install button then follow on-screen tips to install Charles certificate on the iOS device.

install Charles proxy certificate on iphone
install Charles proxy certificate on iphone

Now go to Settings > General > About > Certificate Trust Settings, you can find all installed certificates on your iPhone there. Touch the ON/OFF toggle to enable and trust the Charles certificate. You will see a Root Certificate warning saying the certificate for websites will allow third parties to view any private data sent to websites, tap Continue to allow it and you are done.

trust Charles Proxy certificate on iPhone
trust Charles Proxy certificate on iPhone