Introduction
In 2025, Amazon Web Services (AWS), PlayStation Network, and Cloudflare have been the top three services experiencing significant online disruptions globally. According to Downdetector, these incidents have resulted in over 17 million reports, highlighting the vulnerability of digital services despite their indispensability.
Global Interruptions
The most prominent disruptions have affected platforms for video, gaming, and communication, impacting millions of users worldwide. Centralized infrastructure plays a crucial role in these incidents, as many individual platforms rely on the same cloud providers and central systems.
- AWS Interruption: The largest global incident in 2025 was caused by an AWS outage, generating over 17 million reports across Amazon and other affected services.
- PlayStation Network Interruption: The second-largest global disruption occurred on February 7, with over 3.9 million reports of users unable to access games like Call of Duty and Fortnite.
- Cloudflare Interruption: The most recent outage, on November 18, consolidated as the third-largest global disruption with over 3.3 million reports across various services.
Detailed Analysis of Major Outages
AWS Interruption:
On October 20, the AWS outage lasted more than 15 hours due to a problem with DynamoDB’s automated DNS management system in the United States. This incident affected dependent platforms like Snapchat and Netflix.
PlayStation Network Interruption:
On February 7, PlayStation Network experienced a disruption lasting over 24 hours due to an internal issue within the gaming company’s network, with no significant cloud or internet service provider involvement.
Cloudflare Interruption:
On November 18, the Cloudflare outage lasted around five hours and affected multiple websites, applications, and APIs relying on Cloudflare’s services, including X, ChatGPT, League of Legends, Canva, and Downdetector itself.
Interruptions in Europe
Europe has also experienced significant online service disruptions, including gaming, social media, and telecommunications. The PlayStation Network outage tops the European Union’s list with 1.7 million reports from users in this region.
- Snapchat Interruption: On October 20, Snapchat suffered an outage generating 989,559 reports from Downdetector users.
- Vodafone UK Interruption: Vodafone UK experienced the third-largest European outage due to a non-malicious software issue with a service provider, affecting broadband, 4G, and 5G services.
- WhatsApp Interruption: In February, WhatsApp faced a significant service disruption preventing message delivery for thousands of users and generating 621,763 reports.
Other European service providers experiencing outages in 2025 include YouTube (490,000 reports), Spotify (468,000), X (382,000), Odio (357,000), and Cloudflare (326,000).
Key Questions and Answers
- What are the top 3 services with the most online disruptions in 2025? Amazon Web Services (AWS), PlayStation Network, and Cloudflare.
- How many reports did these incidents generate on Downdetector? Over 17 million reports.
- What caused the major AWS outage in 2025? A problem with DynamoDB’s automated DNS management system in the United States.
- What was the duration and impact of PlayStation Network’s outage? It lasted over 24 hours, affecting users’ access to games like Call of Duty and Fortnite.
- What led to Vodafone UK’s significant outage in Europe? A non-malicious software issue with a service provider affected broadband, 4G, and 5G services.
