X sends cease-and-desist to open-source project Nitter over alleged scraping

Back Nitter, an open source project that allowed people to read X posts without logging into or even opening the X app, has received cease-and-desist letters from X asking for that it shut down. The news was shared via a brief message posted to the project’s website, and follows X’s earlier attempts to knock Nitter offline The service also powers a number of other sites, including XCancel, that allow people to view X posts directly.

After that crackdown, those who wanted to host a Nitter instance had to connect it to a real X account, according to the project’s GitHub page. Despite the restrictions, development picked back up and Nitter instances came back online. This time, X is working to shut down Nitter and its instances via legal means.

For related coverage, explore our detailed analysis on Technology and Digital Systems.

Nitter’S Website States Nitter.Net Updates

Nitter’s website states that the Nitter.net project is offline while its creator seeks legal advice after receiving a cease-and-desist letter. That creator, a developer who goes On Nitter’s website, the message currently reads: “On 24 August 2026 cease and desist letters have been sent asking for a permanent takedown of Nitter instances and the project’s repository.

nitter.net is offline and development has halted for the time being. I’m seeking legal advice and won’t be commenting further on the specifics for now.

Thank you to everyone who used, hosted, packaged, donated and contributed to Nitter over the past seven years.” The letter from X, which TechCrunch has viewed, accuses Nitter of an “unlawful use and circumvention of X’s Application Programming Interface (API) and associated data,” through its service, saying that X has evidence that Nitter scraped X data and accessed X accounts and session tokens in violation of X’s rules.

Read More: Apply now to host a Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Lawyers for X said the actions are in violation of “various state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the Texas Harmful Access 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 shut down.

Hardly Alone Policing Alleged Updates

X is hardly alone in policing alleged scrapers. Meta has taken numerous scrapers to court, and most larger social networks today restrict the use of third-party readers, forcing users to log in and access the site’s content through the official app, where they can be tracked and shown personalized ads.

It’s an unfortunate development for lurkers, given that Nitter and its instances offered a handy way to keep up with certain people’s posts on X without an account.

Now those people will either need to give up that access or, as X likely hopes, create an account and log in. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

In less than 48 hours, your chance to save up to $300 on your tickets will end! Two years after launch, Walmart’s Flipkart is closing in on India’s quick-commerce leaders Inherent, founded Michael Polansky is training an AI model on skin that’s still alive How AI accounting startup Rillet raised $100M and became a unicorn in 48 hours Tesla’s solar roof is dead — here’s what went wrong Oura faces legal case accusing it of misleading consumers about sleep-tracking accuracy Home batteries are suddenly cheap and everywhere.