Twitter front-end Nitter dies as Musk wins war against third-party services (2024)

Nitter is dead —

Musk's changes kill service that let you view tweets without going to Twitter.

Jon Brodkin -

Twitter front-end Nitter dies as Musk wins war against third-party services (1)

An open source project that let people view tweets without going to Twitter.com has shut down, as Elon Musk's changes seem to have closed off all possible ways to access the Twitter network without a user account.

Nitter provided an alternative front-end to Twitter but has been struggling for months. Nitter.net, the official Nitter instance, went down a few weeks ago.

NoLog, a Czech group that ran another Nitter instance, announced its demise today. NoLog operated one of the largest Nitter instances but is a different group than the one that created Nitter itself.

"Nitter is over—it's been a fun ride. Twitter blocked the last known way to access their network without a user account," the NoLog update said.

Users reported that many Nitter instances went down about eight months ago as Twitter (now called X) imposed new API restrictions. Some instances stayed online with workarounds, which no longer work.

"Most Nitter servers were using a technique of generating loads of temporary tokens that were used for accessing the content, but that path is now blocked as well," the NoLog update today said.

Twitter limited “any access they can’t monetize”

NoLog says its Nitter service was designed to maintain users' privacy.

"Over the last 2 years nitter.cz proxied over 10 Billion requests (>10,000,000,000) to Twitter, shielding you from tracking and ads, while providing a fast user interface... We never track our users, show ads or sell any data to any third party," the update said. "Our infrastructure runs on our own bare-metal servers, and we are not dependent on any cloud provider. That doesn't mean it's free. Running our servers costs us ~600€/month, and we are only able to pay for it thanks to users who are pitching in."

NoLog's update said that Nitter's main developer, Zed, "worked really hard to keep the project going" over the past few years. "But Twitter worked just as hard on closing their network down and limiting any access they can't monetize."

There are still some active Nitter instances, but they are expected to shut down in the near future as the remaining tokens expire. Three weeks ago, Zed wrote on GitHub that "Nitter is dead."

Guest-account workaround stopped working

In August 2023, Zed explained on GitHub that the project found a way to continue at least temporarily despite Twitter's API changes.

"I conclude that it is possible to easily acquire thousands of guest accounts within just a few minutes by using proxies, and they are all usable from a single IP address without getting rate limited," the August 2023 post said. "The rate limits per account work the same way as guest tokens, with a 15 minute window of x requests being allowed. It is therefore 100% feasible to get Nitter back up and running, it just requires a bunch of proxies. I will also develop a service that fetches these continuously, and lets operators request guest accounts for their own instances without having to pay for proxies."

The so-called guest account was really a "strange anonymous account old versions of the Android and iOS apps used to make when you opened them for the first time," Zed explained. "It doesn't use an email address, a password, or even a customizable username, and they cannot be viewed anywhere or logged into."

Each guest account essentially provided temporary credentials that worked with the Twitter API for about a month. It "is therefore not equivalent to setting up a bot farm to create fake X/Twitter accounts," Zed wrote.

Group sad that Twitter is led by “egomaniac”

Of course, this guest account workaround has since been closed off. Pointing to a recent discussion on GitHub, today's update from NoLog said there may be "a way to spin up a personal Nitter instance with your own account to keep the interface you are used to, but there is no guarantee this will work long-term."

This also wouldn't work on a large scale. "Unfortunately regular accounts can only support a small group of users, so running a public instance this way is not feasible," the update said.

As for what Nitter users should do now, the NoLog post had a recommendation: "Don't trust corporations, especially those where one egomaniac has all the power. Use open-source and community driven solutions if you can (like Mastodon)."

NoLog accepts donations and offers a few other services, including file sharing with end-to-end encryption.

This article was corrected after publication to make it clear that NoLog and Nitter are separate entities.

Twitter front-end Nitter dies as Musk wins war against third-party services (2024)

FAQs

Will Nitter ever come back? ›

Discontinuation. Nitter was officially discontinued in February 2024.

Why is Nitter dead? ›

"Nitter is over—it's been a fun ride. Twitter blocked the last known way to access their network without a user account," the NoLog update said. Users reported that many Nitter instances went down about eight months ago as Twitter (now called X) imposed new API restrictions.

What is the difference between Twitter and Nitter? ›

Using an instance of Nitter (hosted on a VPS for example), you can browse Twitter without JavaScript while retaining your privacy. In addition to respecting your privacy, Nitter is on average around 15 times lighter than Twitter, and in most cases serves pages faster (eg. timelines load 2-4x faster).

What will happen to Twitter after Elon Musk takes over? ›

Along with the acquisition, Musk also took Twitter private, meaning it is no longer a public company, and was officially delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in November 2022. The move gave Musk complete control, freeing him up to make changes without any boards or meddling shareholders to restrain him.

Who is the owner of Nitter? ›

But zdeus is the 'owner' of the nitter project on Github. That's their official word for it, even though it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the legal concept of (copyright) ownership.

What is a Nitter? ›

nit·​ter. ˈnitə(r) plural -s. : an insect (as a botfly) that deposits nits on horses.

What is better than Twitter? ›

Created in November 2022, Tribel Social is a popular alternative to Twitter with over 600,000 users at the time of this publication. It is conceptualized as a more left-leaning version of Twitter with a better set of features and a user experience that both users and businesses will love.

How to look at Twitter without an account in 2024? ›

To look at Twitter without an account in 2024, use privacy-focused tools like Nitter, search for specific tweets using Google Search with the site(.)com operator, or view historical snapshots of profiles using the Wayback Machine. These methods help you bypass Twitter's restrictions and browse anonymously.

How to browse Twitter without an account? ›

Type “Twitter explore page” into any search engine and navigate to the corresponding site. You can also try Twitter.com, but the site may ask you to log in. Once on the Twitter homepage, you'll see trending topics for your area and in different categories such as music, sports, or politics.

Who is the biggest competitor to Twitter? ›

Instagram. Instagram is a prominent competitor to Twitter in the world of social media and online communication. With its focus on visual content sharing, Instagram provides a unique platform for users to engage with each other and discover new content.

What should I replace Twitter with? ›

What is the best Twitter alternative?
Best Twitter alternativePros
BlueskyAd-free; looks and feels like Twitter
MastodonAd-free; open-source
Counter.SocialAd-free; excellent discussion interface
Diaspora*Ad-free; open-source; a cross between Twitter and Facebook
2 more rows
Aug 3, 2023

What is rival for Twitter? ›

LinkedIn. LinkedIn is known for being a professional networking site, but the platform has added new social media features in the past couple of years, including streaming and a news feed. Users can post videos, links, updates and pictures on LinkedIn much like they can on Twitter.

Is Twitter losing users in 2024? ›

In 2024, its global user base will then drop another 5.1% to 335.7 million.

Why are people leaving Twitter? ›

Recent events have shown not only how the platform can be used to incite, spread hatred and mobilise disorder, but also that the current leadership of the company have no interest in tackling those problems. Moderation consistently fails to address hate speech of various forms.

Is Twitter making profit? ›

Twitter's Net Income from 2010

A company's net income is its net profit or loss after all revenues, income items, and expenses have been accounted for. For the quarter ending on 31 March 2022, Twitter's quarterly net earnings amounted to $513 million. For the quarter ending 06 June 2022, its net loss was $-270 million.

Is Nitter anonymous? ›

All requests go through the backend, and your client never talks to Twitter, which is how Nitter prevents Twitter from tracking your IP or JavaScript fingerprint, thus enhancing privacy. Behind a VPN, you have yourself a self-hosted, anonymous Twitter reader that does not require an account or track you.

How to see Twitter without Twitter? ›

View Twitter Media Without Account: 3 Simple Solutions
  1. Visit www.publish.twitter.com on your desktop browser.
  2. Paste the tweet's link in the text box.
  3. Select Embedded Video, and X will show you only the media in the post. Left-click Embedded Post to get the Tweet Card.

What is Nitter social? ›

Nitter is a discontinued alternative front-end for X, with better privacy and performance. The UI is based off the classic Twitter desktop layout. The front end used many "guest accounts" created using proxy servers to get tweets.

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