Major internet meltdown: Why snapchat, Lloyds bank, fortnite, and dozens of websites suddenly crashed — Was Amazon web services to blame?

A major online disruption left millions of users unable to access popular websites and apps on Monday morning after a widespread failure linked to Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s largest cloud hosting provider.

From Lloyds Bank and Snapchat to Fortnite, Ring, and Prime Video, countless platforms faced unexpected downtime, frustrating users across the UK and beyond. Even critical government systems such as the Government Gateway—used for logging into HMRC and other public services—were hit hard, displaying error messages that urged users to “try again later.”

Financial services were not spared either. Visitors to the Lloyds website and Halifax banking app encountered messages acknowledging “technical issues” and were advised to contact helplines for urgent assistance. Social media quickly flooded with complaints from users unable to complete transactions or log in to their accounts, raising concerns about potential financial disruptions.

The AWS Effect: When the Cloud Shuts Down, So Does the Internet

The chaos was traced to a malfunction within Amazon Web Services, the backbone infrastructure powering thousands of websites and digital services globally. AWS later confirmed that engineers were working to mitigate a “significant error rate” issue affecting DynamoDB, a key database system that helps websites store and retrieve user data.

According to AWS’s service dashboard, at least 48 of its cloud features were impacted by the glitch, which triggered cascading failures across major online platforms. “Our engineers are actively investigating and mitigating the root cause,” AWS stated in an update.

The incident demonstrates how deeply intertwined the modern internet has become with cloud service providers like Amazon. A single technical breakdown at AWS can ripple through the digital ecosystem, temporarily crippling apps and services that rely on its servers — even those with no direct connection to Amazon.

Widespread Impact: From Entertainment to E-commerce

The scope of the outage was massive. Snapchat, Roblox, Duolingo, and Canva all reported disruptions, while Down Detector, a website that tracks service outages, recorded more than 5,000 problem reports for Snapchat alone.

Gamers were equally affected, as Epic Games’ Fortnite experienced connection failures around 8 a.m. in the UK (midnight Pacific Time), sparking outrage among players. Meanwhile, Amazon’s own services, including Alexa and Prime Video, also faced partial downtime.

Adding to the confusion, customers of Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland began reporting login failures and even declined card transactions. Although there’s no official confirmation that these banking issues were directly linked to AWS, the timing has raised strong suspicions of a shared technical dependency.

A Wake-Up Call for the Cloud-Dependent World

With AWS generating more than $108 billion in revenue last year, it remains the undisputed leader in global cloud computing. However, Monday’s incident highlights a growing concern: the internet’s overreliance on a handful of cloud providers.

For millions of individuals and businesses, this outage was more than an inconvenience — it was a stark reminder that the digital world’s resilience is only as strong as the infrastructure it depends on.

Experts warn that as more organizations migrate to the cloud, redundancy and backup strategies must evolve to prevent a single-point failure from paralyzing multiple industries simultaneously.

FAQs

1. What caused the widespread website outage?
The outage was caused by a technical issue in Amazon Web Services’ DynamoDB system, which disrupted multiple cloud-based services globally.

2. Which platforms were affected?
Major apps and websites including Lloyds Bank, Snapchat, Fortnite, Ring, Duolingo, Canva, and Amazon Prime Video were among those impacted.

3. How long did the outage last?
While exact timelines varied, most affected services began restoring functionality within several hours after AWS engineers intervened.

4. Was customer data compromised?
There’s no evidence suggesting that any user data was lost or compromised. The issue was primarily related to system accessibility.

5. Could this happen again?
Yes. As long as major online platforms depend heavily on centralized cloud providers like AWS, similar disruptions remain possible.