X Sends Cease-and-Desist Notice to Open-Source Project Nitter Over Alleged Scraping Activities

Nitter, a community-driven project that allowed users to view X posts without logging in or using the X app, has received cease-and-desist notices from X, demanding its closure. This development was shared in a brief statement on Nitter’s website, following X’s previous attempts to hinder the initiative using technical means.

Moreover, the service offers support for various additional platforms like XCancel, enabling users to access X posts directly.

This is not the first time X has attempted to shut down Nitter. In 2024, the primary Nitter instance, Nitter.net, went offline temporarily after X implemented new API restrictions. Nitter operated by fetching public X posts while eliminating ads, tracking cookies, and JavaScript, ensuring a clean reading experience that didn’t require an account or the app.

After that crackdown, individuals wishing to establish a Nitter instance needed to connect it to a legitimate X account, as outlined on the project’s GitHub page. Despite these limitations, development continued, and Nitter instances have since resurfaced online.

Now, however, X is pursuing Nitter and its instances through legal measures. Nitter’s website reveals that the Nitter.net project is currently offline as its creator seeks legal assistance following the cease-and-desist notice. The creator, known as Zedeus, informed TechCrunch via email that other Nitter instances have received similar notifications.

A notice currently on Nitter’s website states:

“On 24 August 2026, cease-and-desist letters were issued by X Corp. demanding a permanent shutdown of Nitter instances along with the project’s repository.

nitter.net is offline, and development is on hold for the moment. I’m currently seeking legal guidance and will refrain from further commentary on the specifics for now.

Thank you to everyone who used, hosted, packaged, donated to, and contributed to Nitter over the past seven years.”

The letter from X, which TechCrunch has reviewed, accuses Nitter of “unlawful use and circumvention of X’s Application Programming Interface (API) and associated data,” claiming that X has evidence to support that Nitter scraped data from X as well as accessed X accounts and session tokens, violating X’s rules.

X’s legal representatives asserted that these activities breach “various state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act (§ 143.001 and § 33.02) and the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125).” The letter gave Nitter until 5 p.m. EST on August 25 to halt operations.

X is not alone in monitoring suspected scrapers. Meta has taken legal action against multiple scrapers, and most major social networks currently restrict the use of third-party readers, requiring users to log in to access content through the official app, where their activity can be tracked and tailored ads can be presented.

This situation is disappointing for users who favored Nitter, as it provided a convenient way to stay informed about specific individuals’ X posts without needing an account. Now, these users must either forgo this option or, as X likely intends, create an account and log in.