X has sent cease-and-desist letters to the open-source project Nitter, demanding its shutdown. Nitter provided a way to view X posts without an account or ads, but X alleges unlawful use of its API and data scraping.
X's legal action against Nitter signifies a move to enforce stricter control over its platform's data and user access, potentially limiting alternative ways for users to consume content without direct engagement or advertising.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has issued cease-and-desist letters to the open-source project Nitter, demanding its permanent shutdown. Nitter offered a service that allowed users to view posts from X without needing an account, logging in, or encountering ads and tracking.
According to a message on Nitter's website, the letters were sent on August 24, 2026, by X Corp., alleging "unlawful use and circumvention of X’s Application Programming Interface (API) and associated data." X claims to have evidence that Nitter scraped X data and accessed X accounts and session tokens, violating the platform's rules and various state and federal laws, including the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act and the Lanham Act.
Nitter.net is currently offline, and its creator, known by the handle Zedeus, is seeking legal advice. This is not the first attempt by X to disable Nitter; in 2024, new API restrictions temporarily took the flagship instance offline. Following that, developers had to connect instances to a real X account, but development resumed and instances came back online.
TechCrunch has viewed the letter from X's lawyers, which gave Nitter until 5 p.m. EST on August 25 to comply. The platform's move aligns with a broader trend among social media companies like Meta, which are increasingly restricting third-party readers and pushing users toward official apps for better tracking and ad delivery.