Snapchat is down. The popular social media app is currently experiencing a major outage, with users worldwide unable to access the app, send messages, or connect to its servers. The issue, which began this morning around 8 AM UK time (midnight PT), is not an isolated problem with Snap.
The Snapchat outage is a symptom of a much larger internet disruption caused by a failure at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Amazon’s data center facilities in North Virginia (US-EAST-1), which provide the essential cloud infrastructure for a significant portion of the internet, are experiencing “increased error rates” and delays.
On its status page, Amazon confirmed issues with core services like Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2). Because thousands of companies rely on these services to run their own apps, the failure has created a cascading effect, knocking dozens of major platforms offline.
The tracking website Downdetector shows a massive, vertical spike in user-submitted error reports for Snapchat, confirming the problem is widespread. Users on other social media platforms have reported that their Snapchat app is completely bugged, with Snap scores failing to load and maps being inaccessible.,
Snapchat is not the only service affected. The AWS outage has also taken down many other popular games and apps, including:
- Roblox
- Fortnite
- Amazon’s own services (Ring, Alexa, Prime Video)
- Duolingo
- Canva
- Roblox
- Epic Games Store
- Venmo
- Coinbase
Amazon is currently working to resolve the issue, but no timeline has been given for a full restoration of services. Until the AWS problems in North Virginia are fixed, Snapchat and many other apps will likely remain down or unreliable for users.
