ModHeader alternatives after its removal

We make Headerlane, so read this with that in mind. Every claim about another product below comes from its own site, store listing or code, checked on 4 October 2026 and linked. If something has changed, email hello@aisssoftware.com and we'll fix it.

What happened to ModHeader

Researchers found a dormant browsing-history collector in ModHeader 7.0.18, built to send the domains you visit to a third-party server once its list was filled in. Microsoft removed ModHeader from the Edge store on 3 July 2026 and Google from the Chrome Web Store on 10 July, about 1.6 million installs between them. No evidence has emerged that the collector ever sent anything (The Hacker News, 13 July 2026).

If you still have it, removing it is the safe step. Export your profiles first (ModHeader's menu, Export) so you can bring them to whatever you pick next.

What to check in a replacement

• Site access. Does it ask for “all websites” at install, or only for the sites you add rules for? Chrome only applies an extension's header rules where it has access, so per-site access limits what it could ever touch.
• Network. No analytics, no remote config, and a store privacy section that matches.
• How it's paid for. A tool with no visible business model still has to earn money somehow. Free, paid, or open source can all be fine; know which it is.
• Your import. Whether it reads a ModHeader export, and what it does with the parts it can't handle.

Headerlane

Headerlane sets or removes request headers per host, path or regular expression, for free, with a switch on every rule and header and a toolbar badge for the current tab. It asks for site access one site at a time, when you add a rule, and has no analytics; the only request it makes is the Pro license check. It imports ModHeader exports with a preview, and names what it skipped (exclude-URL filters, cookie headers, and tab, time and resource-type filters, for now). Pro is one payment for 3 browsers and adds profiles, response headers and redirects, with a 3-day trial on install. Its source isn't public.

HeaderSnap

HeaderSnap is a free header editor with no account, ads, tracking or upsells, according to its site. Its store listing describes request and response header editing, named profiles, regular-expression URL matching, ModHeader import and JSON export, shows about 2,000 users and version 1.0.0, and declares no data collected. Its code is on GitHub; the manifest there asks for access to all sites (<all_urls>) at install.

Requestly

Requestly is a wider HTTP toolkit: request and response headers, redirects, and overriding API responses, injecting scripts and blocking requests, as an extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge or a desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its free plan includes unlimited header rules; team workspaces share rules in the cloud, and its HTTP interceptor is open source on GitHub (Requestly's ModHeader comparison page).

Where they're the better pick

• HeaderSnap if you want profiles and response headers for free and like being able to read the code, and all-sites access is fine for you.
• Requestly if you need mock responses, a browser other than Chrome, or rules shared across a team.
• Headerlane if you want a header editor that can only touch the sites you give it, makes no requests besides a license check, and does headers well without a wider toolkit around them.

ModHeader, HeaderSnap and Requestly are the names of their owners' products. Headerlane isn't affiliated with any of them and doesn't use their code.