In a massive digital hiccup that caught millions off guard, several popular apps and services went offline due to a major outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The disruption, which began in the early hours of Monday, affected users globally with the ripple effect hitting everything from shopping and gaming to banking and AI tools.
AWS Outage Explained: What Caused the Massive Disruption
The issue originated in AWS’s US East‑1 region (based in Virginia), one of its most critical data zones. A technical failure in the cloud provider’s infrastructure caused high error rates and delays across multiple services that rely on AWS.
This wasn’t a small glitch. As AWS struggled to restore its systems, the outage snowballed across platforms worldwide, affecting everything from voice assistants to digital banks.
Millions faced sudden digital silence, no shopping, no chatting, no gaming. All in a matter of minutes.
Apps and Services That Went Offline Due to AWS Outage
Here’s a list of the most talked-about apps and platforms hit by the outage:
- Amazon.com – Users couldn’t browse or make purchases.
- Prime Video – Streaming came to a halt for many.
- Alexa – Amazon’s voice assistant stopped responding.
- Snapchat – Messaging and stories were disrupted.
- Signal – Encrypted messaging was briefly offline.
- Roblox – Gamers worldwide reported access issues.
- Fortnite – Players were booted mid-game.
- Perplexity – AI tool users faced access problems.
- Venmo – Payment transfers and balances were inaccessible.
- Robinhood – Trading apps went offline.
- Duolingo – Language learners couldn’t access lessons.
- Canva – Graphic design work paused.
- Ring – Home security systems experienced malfunctions.
- Life360 – Families couldn’t track members in real time.
- Wordle – Daily puzzle players missed their fix.
- PlayStation Network – Gamers were locked out temporarily.
- HMRC Website – Some users couldn’t access government services.
- Lloyds Bank & Others – Online banking services saw disruptions.
Official Response from AWS
Amazon Web Services acknowledged the problem quickly and posted this update: “We are investigating increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS services in the US‑EAST‑1 Region.”
The company later confirmed that recovery was underway and that most affected services had begun to stabilise. However, a full explanation of the root cause is still pending.
Why It Matters
AWS powers a huge portion of the internet. From social media apps and gaming servers to banks and smart home devices, countless companies rely on Amazon’s cloud platform to function.
When something breaks at AWS, the effects are felt everywhere. This event has once again highlighted just how fragile our connected world can be. When so many services are tied to a single infrastructure, a simple glitch can turn into a digital disaster.
Impact on UK Users
British users weren’t spared. Some of the most significant disruptions reported across the UK included:
- Trouble accessing Amazon UK and Prime Video
- Delays in online banking and HMRC services
- Interruptions to gaming platforms and smart home devices
AWS says services have mostly recovered, but the incident has triggered fresh debates about:
- Over-reliance on single cloud providers
- The need for backup systems
- Digital resilience and redundancy
As the cloud continues to dominate how digital services are built, companies will now be under pressure to rethink their infrastructure and ensure they’re not putting all their eggs in one cloud basket.
If your favourite app glitched today, it wasn’t just you. The internet caught a cold, and everyone sneezed. Stay tuned for further updates as AWS releases more technical details behind this global outage.
