If you are unable to log in to Amazon, or check out posts on Snapchat, or even play Fortnite, you are not alone. A mega Amazon Web Services (AWS) server outage has affected a vast part of the internet, bringing down several services that are dependent on it. This includes popular AI search engine Perplexity, social media platform Snapchat, AI creativity tool Canva, and even the Fortnite video game.
In a stark reminder of the fragility of cloud-dependent tech ecosystems, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has suffered a widespread outage since Monday morning, initiating disruptions across major platforms. The incident, coinciding with Diwali celebrations worldwide, has left millions of users offline, especially during a peak time for digital engagement and connectivity.
Perplexity AI, the San Francisco-based startup, was among the first to publicly acknowledge its downtime to the AWS glitch. CEO Aravind Srinivas posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Perplexity is down right now. The root cause is an AWS issue. We’re working on resolving it.”
AWS outage takes down Perplexity, Snapchat and more
AWS’s status dashboard confirmed the problem originated in its US-EAST-1 region, reporting “increased error rates and latencies” across multiple services since 12:11 a.m. PDT. While details on affected AI or compute tools like EC2 or SageMaker remain unclear, the ripple effects were immediate and worldwide.
Snapchat users reported login failures, Fortnite players encountered server errors mid-game, and Canva’s design tools froze for creators worldwide. Even Signal’s encrypted messaging and Roblox’s virtual worlds joined the list of casualties, alongside Prime Video streaming interruptions.
The New York Times’ Wordle game reportedly went dark, McDonald’s app orders stalled, and Airtable’s productivity suite faltered. Thousands of user complaints flooded Downdetector, with spikes beginning around 3 a.m. EDT.
As of noon, AWS promised updates every 30-45 minutes, but no resolution timeline has emerged yet. An outage like this severely disrupts the festive celebrations on the occasion of Diwali worldwide.
Internet reacts to AWS-induced outage
As usual, the internet could not keep its calm and took to social media for coming up with hilarious responses.
AWS is yet to provide an update on the outage.
