X lawyers shut Nitter, XCancel

· OSINT

TLDR

  • X sent Nitter and XCancel cease-and-desist letters in August 2026, and both services went dark again by mid-September.134
  • Nitter's GitHub repository was archived on 11 September and XCancel suspended service on 14 September.123
  • XCancel cannot share details of the latest legal development; The Next Web said X had not sued when it reported.235

Nitter and XCancel, which let people read public X posts without an account, appear to be offline for good after an August cease-and-desist from X, TechCrunch, Engadget and The Register report.123

Why it matters: investigators who used Nitter or XCancel to view public X posts without logging in lose that route. The Register says accessing posts without an account has become "an order of magnitude more difficult".4

Driving the news:

  • XCancel said it received X Corp's letter on 24 August; Nitter's maintainer, zedeus, said nitter.net was offline while he sought legal advice.4
  • X's letter alleged "unlawful use and circumvention" of its API and data, per TechCrunch and Engadget.12
  • On 7 September Nitter said "following legal advice, the Nitter project will continue", and The Next Web found XCancel serving pages again.5
  • Nitter's repository was archived on 11 September. On 14 September XCancel posted that "a new development in the ongoing legal proceedings" required it to suspend service "until further notice".123

The big picture: this is a repeat. TechCrunch notes Nitter's main instance went offline in 2024 after X's API restrictions, after which hosts had to connect instances to a real X account.1 The Register adds that the project ended in January 2024 when guest accounts were removed and returned a year later.4

What's next: the sources do not say whether other Nitter instances still run, whether X has sued, or whether the suspension is permanent. Engadget says users must wait and see.2 The Next Web notes a cease-and-desist is a demand, not a judgment, and that X had not sued at that point.5

Single-source note: the shutdown is confirmed by three outlets, but the "new development" in the legal proceedings rests only on XCancel's own statement, relayed by all three. The Next Web piece is analysis, not a primary account.235

Sources

  1. Nitter and XCancel are dead (again) after X's latest legal actions (TechCrunch)
  2. X-viewing services Nitter and XCancel shut down after threats of legal action (Engadget)
  3. Twitter workaround worked around again: X's lawyers cancel XCancel again (The Register)
  4. Nitter no more? X sends in the lawyers to shut down open source project (The Register)
  5. Nitter says it will continue despite X Corp's cease-and-desist (The Next Web)