X Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Open Source Project Nitter

X has sent cease-and-desist letters to Nitter, an open-source project that allowed users to view public X posts without opening the official app or logging in to an account.

The legal action was announced through a message posted on Nitter’s website, where the project’s creator said X had demanded a permanent takedown of Nitter instances and the project repository. The open-source project is hosted on GitHub, where developers and contributors have maintained the codebase.

Nitter’s service worked by fetching public posts from X and presenting them through a simplified interface that removed advertisements, tracking cookies and JavaScript elements. The project became popular among users who wanted to read public posts without creating an account or using the official X platform.

Community members also operated alternative Nitter instances that allowed users to access X content through different websites. A list of those community-run instances was maintained through the project’s official instances page.

X Previously Restricted Nitter Through API Changes

This is not the first time X has attempted to limit Nitter’s operation. In 2024, Nitter’s main instance went offline after X introduced stricter API restrictions that affected third-party services.

Following those changes, operators hosting Nitter instances needed to connect them to real X accounts to continue accessing public content, according to information shared by the project. Despite the restrictions, development continued, and some community instances returned to online operations.

The impact of X’s API restrictions on Nitter was previously reported by Ars Technica, which covered how changes to third-party access affected the service.

X Accuses Nitter of Unauthorised Data Access

According to the cease-and-desist letter, X accused Nitter of unlawful use and circumvention of X’s Application Programming Interface (API) and associated data.

X alleged that Nitter scraped data from the platform and accessed X accounts and session tokens in violation of the company’s rules. The company’s lawyers cited several laws, including the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act and sections of the Lanham Act.

The legal notice gave Nitter until 5 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 25 to shut down the project and related instances.

Nitter’s creator, a developer known online as Zedeus, said the project was taken offline while seeking legal advice. The creator also said that other Nitter instances had received similar cease-and-desist letters from X.

Social Platforms Continue Restricting Third-Party Access

X is not the only major social platform to take action against third-party services that collect or display platform content outside official channels. Companies including Meta have also pursued legal action against alleged scraping operations.

Many large social networks now limit third-party access to their platforms, requiring users to interact through official websites and apps where companies can provide features such as advertising and personalised experiences.

For users who relied on Nitter to browse public X posts without an account, the shutdown removes one of the remaining alternatives for accessing the platform outside X’s official tools.