Reddit, Zoom, Ring, and dozens of other online platforms faced significant downtime today due to a major disruption at Amazon Web Services.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- AWS outage disrupted over 40 major platforms including Reddit, Zoom, Ring, and Snapchat.
- Reddit users experienced app failures and rate limit errors starting early on October 20.
- Amazon confirmed the issue originated from its DynamoDB endpoint, delaying services across regions.
- A fix has been deployed, but many services are still recovering or facing lingering issues.
What Happened?
In the early hours of October 20, a widespread Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage sent shockwaves through the internet, affecting a large number of websites and apps globally. The issue began around 12:11 AM PDT, triggering massive service failures for platforms like Reddit, Zoom, Snapchat, Ring, and Chime.
Downdetector recorded tens of thousands of outage reports, with Reddit alone receiving over 4,800 complaints at one point. Users across mobile and web platforms experienced rate limit errors, failed post submissions, and inability to load feeds.
MASSIVE INTERNET OUTAGE CURRENTLY HAPPENING… multiple platform down. pic.twitter.com/VfsZpHV9Tv
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) October 20, 2025
Reddit Among Worst Hit by Cloud Meltdown
Reddit’s services went offline for thousands of users, with 56 percent of complaints tied to its mobile app and 33 percent related to the website. The remaining users reported server connection issues, making it difficult to browse threads, post comments, or load pages.
The issue appeared to stem from AWS’s US-East-1 region, a critical hub for cloud operations. At the height of the outage, over 50,000 incidents were reported across platforms.
AWS Diagnosis and Delayed Recovery
By 2:01 AM PDT, Amazon identified the problem as related to its DynamoDB endpoint, a service likened to the internet’s phonebook that supports countless apps. A fix was deployed around 2:22 AM PDT, but AWS warned that recovery would be gradual.
Amazon said it was still working towards full recovery, citing continued EC2 launch errors and Lambda polling delays. These issues are causing lingering disruptions for services like Ring and Chime, with both platforms confirming ongoing outages.
Internet’s Fragile Backbone Exposed
The incident underscores how a single point of failure in cloud infrastructure can cascade across the digital economy. Platforms as diverse as Fortnite, Coinbase, Venmo, Microsoft Teams, Snapchat, and Apple Music were affected.
A spokesperson from Chargebacks911 put it bluntly: “When AWS sneezes, half the internet catches the flu.” The outage triggered failed payments, duplicate charges, and broken confirmation pages, leaving merchants to deal with the aftermath.
Services Affected Include:
- Reddit, Snapchat, Zoom, Ring, Chime.
- Amazon (Alexa, Prime Video), Apple Music, Venmo, Duolingo.
- Fortnite, Pokémon GO, McDonald’s app, Microsoft Teams.
- PlayStation Network, Xbox, Office 365, Slack.
Even as many services began coming back online, AWS warned of elevated processing times and service lags, signaling that the incident wasn’t entirely resolved.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
Honestly, this was one of those outages that really shows just how vulnerable our digital world is. When one cloud provider like AWS stumbles, it’s like a domino effect across everything we use daily. I couldn’t check Reddit, couldn’t join a Zoom call, and even my smart doorbell was glitchy. It’s a strong reminder that relying too heavily on a single tech backbone is risky. We need smarter, more resilient infrastructure to avoid future internet meltdowns like this.
