A major internet outage has taken down many of the world's most popular apps and websites, including Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Duolingo, and Canva. The disruption began around 8 a.m. UK time (midnight Pacific) and has been traced to issues with Amazon Web Services (AWS) - the cloud infrastructure that powers a significant portion of the modern internet.

According to Amazon's service status page, AWS is currently experiencing "increased error rates" and delays across "multiple AWS services." Because AWS hosts and manages servers for thousands of companies, even a partial outage can ripple across the internet, disabling websites and apps that appear unrelated to Amazon itself.

The widespread outage has affected not only consumer platforms like Snapchat, Canva, and Duolingo, but also productivity tools such as Asana and AI platforms including Perplexity, whose CEO, Aravind Srinivas, confirmed on X (formerly Twitter):

"Perplexity is down right now. The root cause is an AWS issue. We're working on resolving it."

Status pages for several affected services, including Perplexity and Asana, confirm that the downtime stems from an AWS operational failure. As of now, Amazon has not released an official statement on the cause or timeline for resolution.

Amazon Web Services underpins much of the global internet, powering apps, websites, and platforms used by millions daily - from McDonald's and Venmo to Apple TV and Coinbase. When AWS stumbles, a significant portion of the web follows.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.