X Corp. sent cease-and-desist letters on August 24, 2026, to Nitter, the open-source project that allowed users to read X posts without an account or the official app, demanding the permanent takedown of Nitter’s instances and its code repository.
Nitter’s creator, a developer known by the handle Zedeus, confirmed the letters to TechCrunch and said other Nitter instances received similar notices. The project’s website now displays a message from Zedeus stating that Nitter.net has gone offline, development has stopped, and he is seeking legal advice. X gave Nitter until 5 p.m. EST on August 25 to comply.
The cease-and-desist letter, which TechCrunch reviewed, accuses Nitter of “unlawful use and circumvention of X’s Application Programming Interface (API) and associated data,” alleging that Nitter scraped X data and accessed X accounts and session tokens in violation of X’s rules. X’s lawyers cited several laws, including the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act and the Lanham Act.
Nitter worked by fetching public X posts and stripping out ads, tracking cookies, and JavaScript, offering a clean way to browse content without logging in. The service also powered other sites, including XCancel, that allowed direct viewing of X posts.
This is not X’s first attempt to shut Nitter down. In 2024, X rolled out API restrictions that temporarily took Nitter.net offline. The project recovered, though users who wanted to host an instance were required to connect it to a real X account. This time, X is pursuing legal rather than technical means.
X is not alone in targeting alleged scrapers — Meta has taken similar legal action against scrapers, and most major social platforms now restrict third-party access to push users toward official apps where they can be tracked and shown personalized ads. For users who relied on Nitter to follow X content without an account, the shutdown may leave them with little choice but to sign up directly with X.
Source: TechCrunch