Open source X viewers Nitter & XCancel are offline following cease-and-desist letters
X, previously known as Twitter, has sent cease-and-desist letters to the maintainers of Nitter, an open-source project that let users view X posts without an account or using the official platform. The legal demand required the permanent takedown of all public Nitter instances as well as the removal of the project's code repository.
Following these legal actions, Nitter's primary website is now offline and project development has stopped while maintainers seek legal advice. The team stated they will not be commenting further on the specifics of the case for the time being.
According to claims made in the letter, Nitter is accused of scraping X's user data and bypassing the official API.
In a related move, XCancel, a similar open-source service derived from Nitter, has received an identical cease-and-desist letter from X and has also gone offline. These actions highlight expanded efforts by X to limit third-party access through unofficial channels and reinforce control over how its content is accessed outside official tools.
- Twitter Client
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Related news
External links
- On 24 August 2026 cease and desist letters have been sent by X Corp. demanding a permanent takedown of Nitter instances and the project's repository.Nitter • Official source
- Nitter, which let you read X posts without using X, is offlineThe Verge
- X sends cease-and-desist to open source project Nitter over alleged scrapingTechCrunch
- This Was a Bad Day for People Who Hate X but Sometimes Like to Read X Posts AnywayGizmodo
- Musk’s X cracks down on third-party tweet browsing toolsCybernews
- Why X has sent a cease-and-desist letter to NitterNewsBytes
Comments
So, if you are still posting to Xitter, you are supporting the aforementioned SLAPP censorship to take down libre ways to view.
That controvesial gesture during He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's inanugration is just the tip of the iceberg regarding what Xitter would later become:
Please move away from Xitter and let those proprietary platforms burn and die.