mitmproxy vs Privoxy

mitmproxy is a free set of tools for inspecting and changing traffic sent through a proxy. It handles HTTP/1, HTTP/2, WebSocket, and SSL/TLS traffic, and can intercept HTTP and HTTPS requests and responses for editing. Conversations can be saved for later analysis, and users can replay client requests or recorded server responses. The project provides an interactive console, a browser-based GUI, and non-interactive terminal output through mitmproxy, mitmweb, and mitmdump. Proxy modes include regular, local capture, WireGuard, reverse, transparent, TUN, upstream, SOCKS5, and DNS. Python addons can alter behavior in response to events and expose commands. WireGuard mode can capture traffic from external devices or individual Android apps. A built-in certificate authority generates interception certificates as needed. Installation options cover Windows, macOS, Linux, PyPI, and official Docker images. The project says it does not phone home or check for updates. Documentation notes that HTTP/3 client replay is currently broken; dependencies in precompiled binaries and Docker images are fixed at release and cannot be updated in place.

Privoxy is free, non-caching web proxy software for privacy controls, access rules, and changes to HTTP headers and web pages. It can modify page text, remove banners and web bugs, filter HTML annoyances, and inspect HTTPS requests and responses. A browser-based configuration and control utility includes rule tracing and remote toggling, and Privoxy can be chained with other proxies. It can serve multiple clients across a network or as a LAN gateway. The software runs on Windows, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Haiku, BSD variants, Solaris, and other Unix systems. It is licensed under the GNU GPL version 2 or later, with a free plan listed at free. A basic configuration is included with a new installation, but many advanced features need to be enabled. Privoxy handles HTTP and HTTPS proxying; it does not handle FTP, SMTP, instant messaging, IRC, or ICQ. It is not designed as a malware-removal tool, and the default setup does not filter malware. The project says it lacks trusted build infrastructure; individual project members or external contributors build and upload binary packages.