Nora is an SNS browser for Android, iOS, and desktop that pulls Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Threads, X, and other social networks into a single ad-free app, aimed at people who want to read and post across several networks without installing a separate client for each one.
What it is
Nora is an open-source social network browser written in TypeScript and released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Rather than reimplementing each network's API, it wraps the SNS websites themselves inside a platform webview and injects code that blocks ads. The Android build uses Android webview for this; the desktop counterpart, Nora-Desktop, runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and adds a deck view for browsing multiple timelines side by side. Supported networks are Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, Threads, TikTok, Tumblr, VK, and X (Twitter).
The concrete problem it solves is the multi-app, multi-account, ad-heavy reality of using several social networks on one device. Instead of installing a native client per network, each with its own advertising, tracking, and login sprawl, Nora presents the mobile and desktop web versions of those sites in one shell. It replaces the stock per-network apps and the mobile browser as the everyday way to read these feeds. The repository currently shows 1089 stars, 36 forks, and 61 open issues.
Key capabilities
- No ads, achieved by wrapping the SNS websites in a webview and injecting blocking code.
- Multiple accounts with separate cookie storage, so logins for different accounts do not collide.
- Blocklist support for EasyList and EasyPrivacy.
- Download image, plus video download for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
- Select text and zoom controls inside the wrapped pages.
- Removal of tracking URL query parameters before pages load.
- Customization with CSS, and a deck view in Nora-Desktop for multiple timelines.
- Translation of the interface handled through Weblate.
Who uses it and how
- Mobile users on Android or iOS who want several networks in one app and install it from the App Store, Google Play, F-Droid, or an APK from GitHub releases.
- Desktop users on Linux, macOS, or Windows who run Nora-Desktop with its deck view to follow multiple timelines at once.
- People managing more than one account per network, who rely on the separate cookie storage to stay logged in to each without cross-contamination.
- Privacy-minded users who want EasyList and EasyPrivacy blocking plus tracking query parameter removal without leaving the web experience of each site.
- Contributors working on CSS customization or interface translation, the latter coordinated through Weblate.
Getting started
Install the mobile app from the App Store, Google Play, or F-Droid, or download the APK from the GitHub releases page; desktop users get the separate Nora-Desktop build for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Building from source uses Bun, with bun link, bun install, bun dev, and bun run android.
How it compares
No list of paid products this project replaces is provided in the facts, and no comparable tools are named, so Nora stands alone in this registry.
When to use it — and when not to
There is no server component to operate here, so a self-hoster is not signing up to run a database, object storage, or SMTP stack, and the practical cost is a webview app that depends on the wrapped websites continuing to render as they do today. Users who need native app features, offline reading, or push notifications beyond what the web versions provide should look elsewhere, and the README excerpt is short, so anyone weighing the project should check the open issues and recent activity before depending on it. The licence is AGPL-3.0, which matters if the code is to be reused or forked into another product.
Nora: SNS browser
