Snapchat is currently recovering from a widespread outage, though many users may still be experiencing issues.
The problems are due to a major global outage affecting Amazon Web Services (AWS), which hosts many online services, including Snapchat.
While @amazon is a monopoly, it’s clear that this is a MAJOR concern when so many companies use @awscloud to function… #AWS #Amazon #outage pic.twitter.com/wmatK2MmOV
— Nick D’Agostino (@realNickDags) October 20, 2025
Amazon has confirmed the issue in its US-East-1 region has been “fully mitigated” and services are recovering, but a backlog of requests means some users may still have problems.
Users have reported being unable to send messages, upload snaps, see the Snap Map, or even log in. Some users also reported losing their friend lists temporarily.
SNAP IS DOWN I BETTER NOT LOSE MY STREAKS @Snapchat
— BianAkin (@RealBianakin) October 20, 2025
The official Snapchat Support account on X (formerly Twitter) has stated, “We’re aware that some Snapchatters are having issues using the app right now—hang tight, we’re looking into it!”
We’re aware that some Snapchatters are having issues – hang tight, we’re looking into it!
— Snapchat Support (@snapchatsupport) October 20, 2025
Reports on tracking websites like DownDetector have fallen, and some users are seeing the app return to normal functionality, though performance may be a bit laggy for a while as systems catch up.
The widespread Snapchat outage was part of a much larger global internet disruption caused by an issue in Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has highlighted how vulnerable many companies are by relying on a single cloud provider.
Because so many services, from social media to online banking and gaming (like Roblox and Fortnite), rent space on AWS infrastructure, the failure in this core region created a massive, cascading outage.
Amazon has officially stated that the underlying issue has been “fully mitigated” and the core services are recovering.
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Snapchat’s functionality is gradually returning to normal for many users, and reports on outage trackers have fallen, though some may still be experiencing residual issues as the backlog of requests clears.
Experts have indicated that the outage appears to be a “good old-fashioned technology issue” rather than a malicious cyberattack
