Nitter, an open-source front end that let users read X without an account, says X sent cease-and-desist letters demanding a takedown; Nitter.net is now offline (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Nitter, an open-source project, allowed users to read X posts without logging in or opening the X app. It worked by fetching public X posts, stripping out ads, tracking cookies, and JavaScript, providing a clean way to read posts without an account or app.

According to TechCrunch, X sent cease-and-desist letters to Nitter demanding it shut down. The project's website states that Nitter.net is now offline while its creator, Zedeus, seeks legal advice. Other Nitter instances also received similar letters.

Nitter had previously gone dark temporarily in 2024 after X imposed new API restrictions. Despite this, development resumed and instances came back online, until X's latest attempt to shut down Nitter via legal means.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, TechCrunch — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.