By Deborah Mary Sophia and Shubham Kalia
October 20, 2025
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud services division of Amazon, experienced a major outage this week that impacted numerous websites and popular applications, including Snapchat and Reddit. This incident disrupted operations for businesses around the globe.
This was the most significant internet disruption since the CrowdStrike error last year, which affected critical systems in hospitals, banks, and airports. Such events remind us of how fragile our interconnected digital world can be.
After approximately three hours of downtime, AWS reported signs of recovery around 6:00 a.m. ET. They communicated that most systems were coming back online and that they were addressing a backlog of requests as the situation improved.
AWS primarily offers on-demand computing power, data storage, and other digital services to businesses, governments, and individual users. Disruptions in its services can have a ripple effect, causing websites that depend on its infrastructure to go down.
As one of the major players in cloud services—competing with Google and Microsoft—a glitch in AWS can have widespread consequences. AWS did not respond to direct inquiries about the outage but directed users to their status page for updates.
Experts are suggesting that the root of the problem may lie within AWS’s networking systems. A software engineer, Junade Ali, indicated that the issue could be resolved relatively quickly if no further complications arise.
Early signs of recovery are encouraging. Over four million users reported problems related to this outage, according to tracking site DownDetector. Many apps and platforms, including Snapchat and Roblox, showed improvements in their service status.
Despite these advancements, some services, including Reddit and Chime, still faced issues. Other platforms, like the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and the trading app Robinhood, reported disruptions attributed to the AWS issues.
Even Amazon’s own services, such as its online shopping platform and Prime Video, experienced difficulties. High-profile games like Fortnite and Clash of Clans were affected, as well as the ride-sharing service Lyft in the U.S.
In the U.K., several banks and telecom providers also faced outages, demonstrating how deeply dependent various sectors have become on a handful of major cloud providers. Experts have pointed out that such reliance on a single service can lead to significant disruptions in daily life and business operations.
While authorities have not suggested that a cyberattack was behind the outage, the scale of the disruption has understandably led to speculation. Cybersecurity experts emphasize that any major issue affecting AWS can lead to widespread chaos, given its extensive reach.
