Couldn’t Message, Stream, or Trade? Blame Amazon’s Cloud Crash

A massive disruption in Amazon Web Services (AWS) — the world’s leading cloud infrastructure provider — caused widespread outages across gaming, financial, and communication platforms on October 20, 2025.

Internet users reported issues accessing Signal, Snapchat, Coinbase, Robinhood, Wordle, Roblox, and Prime Video, as Amazon’s core servers in its US-East-1 region experienced “significant error rates.” The company later confirmed “significant signs of recovery,” noting that most systems were returning to normal but that backlogged requests were still being cleared.

The outage underscored the internet’s heavy reliance on a small number of cloud providers. AWS powers millions of websites and apps used daily by individuals, businesses, and governments worldwide.

Similar disruptions occurred in December 2021, when delivery operations and smart devices were halted across the U.S., and again in June 2023, when Amazon’s Lambda service failure hit major outlets including the New York MTA, Boston Globe, and Southwest Airlines.