AWS outage: Why Amazon's cloud failure broke top apps worldwide

Amazon Web Services faced a widespread outage that disrupted platforms including Perplexity AI, Pinterest, and Snapchat, highlighting the risks of global dependence on its cloud network

Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Monday experienced widespread disruptions, affecting thousands of users globally. Multiple other platforms, including artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity AI, Pinterest, and Snapchat, also went down, leaving users unable to access their services.

 

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, confirmed that the outage stemmed from an AWS issue. “Perplexity is down right now. The root cause is an AWS issue. We’re working on resolving it,” he wrote on X.

 

How are these outages connected? Here’s a breakdown of what AWS is, where it is used, and why so many companies depend on it.

What is AWS and how does it work?

AWS is a cloud computing platform offered by Amazon that provides a wide range of on-demand services over the internet. Instead of companies maintaining their own physical servers and data centres, they can use AWS to store data, run applications, and manage databases. 

 

It offers computing power, storage, and networking capabilities that can be scaled up or down based on demand. AWS has data centres across the world, allowing users to deploy applications closer to their customers for faster performance.

Where is AWS used?

Several leading companies, such as Pinterest, Snapchat, Apple TV, and Netflix, rely on AWS for their day-to-day operations. Netflix depends almost entirely on AWS to stream video content to millions of users worldwide, using AWS servers to run its applications and store its vast library of films and shows.

 

Pinterest uses AWS to store and serve billions of user-uploaded images and pins. AWS computing power allows it to analyse user behaviour, improve search results, and run AI algorithms for personalised recommendations.

 

Snapchat also leverages AWS to store and deliver millions of snaps, videos, and messages daily. Its infrastructure processes filters, lenses, and augmented reality effects in real time, while AWS’s security features help safeguard user data.

How critical is AWS to global apps?

AWS acts as a digital backbone for many global platforms. So when AWS faced an outage on Monday, several dependent companies went down with it.

 

According to Al Jazeera, users in the United States reported issues with financial apps like Venmo, while some Ring doorbells and Alexa devices stopped working. Others were unable to access Amazon’s website or download books on their Kindles.

 

In India, too, many startups and new-age companies now rely on AWS to scale their operations efficiently. Hence, any AWS outage can cause widespread disruption like the one witnessed on Monday.

Which companies use AWS services?

AWS is the leading cloud provider for a wide range of clients — from startups and mid-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises across sectors like technology, finance, healthcare, media, retail, and government. 

 

According to Amazon, AWS serves over one million active customers every month and has partnered with more than 330,000 startups. Companies such as Netflix, Pinterest, Snapchat, Airbnb, Samsung, Capital One, Pfizer, ICICI Lombard, and Tata Communications all depend on its services.

What did Amazon say about the outage?

Amazon said that several AWS services in the US-East-1 region, including DynamoDB and IAM, faced errors and delays due to DNS issues with the DynamoDB API. Engineers worked quickly to fix the problem, and many services began recovering within a few hours, though some requests still failed and backlogs remained.

 

Most affected services have now recovered.