ALM player Telerik has announced its acquisition of the Fiddler web debugger. This web traffic tool is designed to inspect and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing application data to debug apps on Apple iOS and Android.

Fiddler works to debug traffic from "virtually any" application that supports a proxy, including all modern web browsers to let developers see HTTP messages from any program. Fiddler includes a scripting subsystem and can be extended using any .NET language.

Fiddler creator Eric Lawrence will join Telerik's testing tools division, in Austin TX, and will make the project 100 percent of his focus. "We have great plans for the advancement of Fiddler including creating an improved user interface and enhanced support for popular platforms," he said.

Telerik confirms that it intends to keep Fiddler as a free tool as part of its Test Studio product family, where it is already used for load and performance features.

"We have learned from the mistakes of others who have acquired free tools only to turn the tables on the developer community and monetize them at a later date. We respect what Fiddler has delivered to the community and want to expand that value by giving it the appropriate enterprise-level support. Additionally, with Eric joining our team, we gain a formidable competitive edge. The collaboration for enhancing Fiddler is already underway as well as discussions to further expand our portfolio and extend support for our customers," said Christopher Eyhorn, executive VP, Telerik testing tools division.