Capture Douyin Hotspot Data on Android with Charles, Appium & mitmproxy

In this guide the author demonstrates a simple method for analyzing and capturing data from an Android app, using Douyin (TikTok) as an example to retrieve its hotspot ranking list.

First, install Charles proxy, a paid network‑capture tool that is easy to use. After installation, configure the proxy on the computer via Proxy → Proxy Settings .

On the Android device, set the proxy to the computer’s IP address and port 8888 , ensuring both devices are on the same LAN.

Install the required SSL certificates on both the PC and the phone. On the PC, go to Help → SSL Proxy → Install Charles Root Certificate . On the phone, select Help → SSL Proxy → Install on mobile device , open chls.pro/ssl in a browser to download the certificate, then install it via Settings → Security → Install from SD card .

Launch Charles, open the Douyin app’s hotspot page, and the data request can be seen in Charles, returning 50 items at once. The request URL is displayed in the tool.

The interface only returns the current snapshot of hotspot data; obtaining newer data requires changing complex request parameters, which is beyond the scope of this article.

To automate data collection, combine Appium for device control with mitmproxy for interception. The Appium script (shown in the image) repeatedly fetches the latest hotspot information, while the mitmproxy script (shown in the image) filters traffic.

Key points for the mitmproxy script:

Before capturing, set the phone’s proxy port to 8080 .

Include the first two lines in the script to enable external functions.

Use if url in flow.request.url to identify Douyin hotspot requests.

Execute the script from its directory as illustrated.

After running the Appium automation script, the data capture process is complete.