Mobile application security testing
Emulators lie. Test on devices that don't.
Elenchia is a mobile application security testing platform that runs your Android app on cloud devices carrying genuine hardware identity at the kernel level. Apps that hide their real behaviour from emulators cannot tell the difference — so what you test is what your users actually get.
The difference is the finding you never saw
The same application, the same test goal, two environments. An emulator-based tool reports an absence of evidence. Elenchia reports evidence.
Emulator-based tool> run payment_flow [!] com.example.bank: integrity check failed [!] payment activity refused to start RESULT: 0 findings — flow not reachable
Elenchia> run payment_flow [ok] device attested as SM-G991B [ok] payment activity rendered [*] POST /v2/checkout — captured RESULT: PAN transmitted without field encryption
This is the whole argument. A test environment the application refuses to trust cannot tell you whether the application is safe. It can only tell you that it declined to answer.
Read the full comparison of emulator and real-device testing →
Three layers
Genuine device identity
Android runs in a container on a patched kernel, so hardware identity is not a property an app can inspect its way around. sysfs,procfs and DeviceTree records, GPU strings, thermal zones, modem and band data, and the sensor list all report a real handset.
AI-discovered flows
Describe the objective in plain English. The platform dumps the accessibility tree, chooses the next interaction, verifies the outcome, and saves the sequence as a workflow. Discovery happens once; replay is deterministic.
Full traffic visibility
Every request is captured, TLS included, through a managed interception certificate. Screen video, screenshots and the UI tree are recorded alongside, so a finding arrives with the evidence attached.
Where the product is today
The device platform, workflow engine, AI discovery loop and traffic capture are built and running. The layer that converts captured traffic into ranked findings mapped to OWASP MASVS is in active development.
We are taking a small number of design partners while that layer is finished. If you run mobile security testing today and emulator false negatives are a problem you recognise, we want your test cases shaping what gets built.
Frequently asked questions
What is Elenchia?
Elenchia is a mobile application security testing platform. It runs your Android app on cloud devices that report genuine hardware identity at the kernel level, so applications that disable features or change code paths when they detect an emulator behave exactly as they would on a user’s phone.
Why do emulators produce false negatives in security testing?
Banking, payment, gaming and social applications routinely fingerprint the device for emulator, root and hook indicators. When those checks trip, the app takes a defensive code path, disables features, or refuses to start. A scanner then reports that no issue was found — when the accurate statement is that the application never revealed the behaviour being tested.
How is this different from a physical device farm?
A physical farm gives correct results but does not scale: handsets must be bought, charged, cabled, replaced when they break, and supplied with IP addresses from the right country. Elenchia devices are containerised, so each one starts in seconds with its own identity, its own residential egress and its own storage.
Do I need to write test scripts?
No. You describe the goal in plain English — for example, "register an account and attempt the payment flow". The platform reads the on-screen accessibility tree, decides what to interact with, verifies the result, and records the sequence as a reusable workflow that then replays deterministically across many devices.
Can I test any application?
Only applications you own or have written authorisation to assess. Elenchia is built for authorised security testing and QA. See the acceptable use policy for the full terms.