diff --git a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/har_data_entry.dart b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/har_data_entry.dart
index fe50b818403..8e5560e544c 100644
--- a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/har_data_entry.dart
+++ b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/har_data_entry.dart
@@ -119,6 +119,9 @@ class HarDataEntry {
       };
     }).toList();
 
+    final isBinary = !isTextMimeType(e.type);
+    final responseBodyBytes = e.encodedResponse;
+
     return <String, Object?>{
       NetworkEventKeys.startedDateTime.name: e.startTimestamp
           .toUtc()
@@ -153,8 +156,14 @@ class HarDataEntry {
         NetworkEventKeys.content.name: <String, Object?>{
           NetworkEventKeys.size.name: e.responseBody?.length,
           NetworkEventKeys.mimeType.name: e.type,
-          NetworkEventKeys.text.name: e.responseBody,
+          if (responseBodyBytes != null && isBinary) ...{
+            NetworkEventKeys.text.name: base64.encode(responseBodyBytes),
+            'encoding': 'base64',
+          } else if (e.responseBody != null) ...{
+            NetworkEventKeys.text.name: e.responseBody,
+          },
         },
+
         NetworkEventKeys.redirectURL.name: '',
         NetworkEventKeys.headersSize.name: calculateHeadersSize(
           e.responseHeaders,
diff --git a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/network_controller.dart b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/network_controller.dart
index 309b62e8503..cd922a01ed9 100644
--- a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/network_controller.dart
+++ b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/network_controller.dart
@@ -78,9 +78,8 @@ class NetworkController extends DevToolsScreenController
       debugPrint('No valid request data to export');
       return '';
     }
-
+    // Build the HAR object
     try {
-      // Build the HAR object
       final har = HarNetworkData(_httpRequests!);
       return ExportController().downloadFile(
         json.encode(har.toJson()),
@@ -206,8 +205,11 @@ class NetworkController extends DevToolsScreenController
         shouldLoad: (data) => !data.isEmpty,
         loadData: (data) => loadOfflineData(data),
       );
-    }
-    if (serviceConnection.serviceManager.connectedState.value.connected) {
+    } else if (serviceConnection
+        .serviceManager
+        .connectedState
+        .value
+        .connected) {
       await startRecording();
     }
   }
diff --git a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/utils/http_utils.dart b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/utils/http_utils.dart
index 9efd5482a73..7ef81239cba 100644
--- a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/utils/http_utils.dart
+++ b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/screens/network/utils/http_utils.dart
@@ -29,3 +29,55 @@ int calculateHeadersSize(Map<String, Object?>? headers) {
   // Calculate the byte length of the headers string
   return utf8.encode(headersString).length;
 }
+
+/// Returns `true` if the given [mimeType] is considered textual and can be
+/// safely decoded as UTF-8 without base64 encoding.
+///
+/// This function is useful for determining whether the content of an HTTP
+/// request or response can be directly included in a HAR or JSON file as
+/// human-readable text.
+bool isTextMimeType(String? mimeType) {
+  if (mimeType == null) return false;
+
+  // Strip charset if present
+  final cleanedMime = mimeType.split(';').first.trim().toLowerCase();
+
+  return cleanedMime.startsWith('text/') ||
+      cleanedMime == 'application/json' ||
+      cleanedMime == 'application/javascript' ||
+      cleanedMime == 'application/xml';
+}
+
+/// Extracts and normalizes the `content-type` MIME type from the headers.
+///
+/// - Supports headers as either a `List<String>` or a single `String`.
+/// - Strips any parameters (e.g., `charset=utf-8`) and converts to lowercase.
+/// - Returns `null` if no valid MIME type is found.
+///
+/// Example:
+///   - "application/json; charset=utf-8" → "application/json"
+///   - ["text/html; charset=UTF-8"] → "text/html"
+String? getHeadersMimeType(dynamic header) {
+  if (header == null) return null;
+
+  final value = header is List
+      ? (header.isNotEmpty ? header.first : null)
+      : header;
+
+  if (value == null || value.trim().isEmpty) return null;
+
+  return value.split(';').first.trim().toLowerCase();
+}
+
+/// Converts the given [bodyBytes] to a String based on its [mimeType].
+///
+/// - If the MIME type is text-based (e.g., `application/json`, `text/html`),
+///   it decodes the raw bytes as UTF-8 for readability.
+/// - Otherwise, it Base64 encodes the bytes so they can be safely stored
+///   in JSON-based exports such as HAR files.
+String convertBodyBytesToString(List<int> bodyBytes, String? mimeType) {
+  if (isTextMimeType(mimeType)) {
+    return utf8.decode(bodyBytes);
+  }
+  return base64.encode(bodyBytes);
+}
diff --git a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/shared/http/http_request_data.dart b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/shared/http/http_request_data.dart
index 8be9458d23f..c3d66087d84 100644
--- a/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/shared/http/http_request_data.dart
+++ b/packages/devtools_app/lib/src/shared/http/http_request_data.dart
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import 'package:mime/mime.dart';
 import 'package:vm_service/vm_service.dart';
 
 import '../../screens/network/network_model.dart';
+import '../../screens/network/utils/http_utils.dart';
 import '../globals.dart';
 import '../primitives/utils.dart';
 import 'constants.dart';
@@ -101,8 +102,24 @@ class DartIOHttpRequestData extends NetworkRequest {
             );
         _request = updated;
         final fullRequest = _request as HttpProfileRequest;
-        _responseBody = utf8.decode(fullRequest.responseBody!);
-        _requestBody = utf8.decode(fullRequest.requestBody!);
+        var responseMime = getHeadersMimeType(responseHeaders?['content-type']);
+        final requestMime = getHeadersMimeType(requestHeaders?['content-type']);
+
+        if (fullRequest.responseBody != null) {
+          responseMime = normalizeContentType(responseHeaders?['content-type']);
+          _responseBody = convertBodyBytesToString(
+            fullRequest.responseBody!,
+            responseMime,
+          );
+        }
+
+        if (fullRequest.requestBody != null) {
+          _requestBody = convertBodyBytesToString(
+            fullRequest.requestBody!,
+            requestMime,
+          );
+        }
+
         notifyListeners();
       }
     } finally {
@@ -110,6 +127,16 @@ class DartIOHttpRequestData extends NetworkRequest {
     }
   }
 
+  //TODO check if all cases are handled correctly
+  String? normalizeContentType(dynamic header) {
+    if (header is List && header.isNotEmpty) {
+      return header.first.toString().split(';').first.trim().toLowerCase();
+    } else if (header is String) {
+      return header.split(';').first.trim().toLowerCase();
+    }
+    return null;
+  }
+
   static List<Cookie> _parseCookies(List<String>? cookies) {
     if (cookies == null) return [];
     return cookies.map((cookie) => Cookie.fromSetCookieValue(cookie)).toList();