A significant technical failure at the internet infrastructure giant Cloudflare caused widespread disruption across the web on Tuesday morning, rendering a host of major platforms inaccessible to users.
What Happened During the Outage?
On Tuesday 18 November 2025, users attempting to access popular sites, including the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), were met with error messages. These alerts originated from Cloudflare itself, indicating a serious system malfunction within its network.
Cloudflare operates one of the planet's largest networks, providing services that allow millions of websites to run faster and more securely. Its primary function is to act as a protective intermediary, ensuring sites can handle heavy traffic and remain online, especially during cyber attacks.
The Ripple Effect of Infrastructure Failure
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the internet's fragility. When a core infrastructure provider like Cloudflare experiences issues, the effects are felt instantly across a vast range of seemingly unconnected websites.
This event echoes a previous outage at Amazon Web Services, highlighting a concentrated risk in the modern digital ecosystem. The reliance on a handful of key companies means that a single point of failure can have global consequences.
Understanding Cloudflare's Role
For many, Cloudflare is an invisible force, working behind the scenes to keep the digital world turning. This outage pulled back the curtain, revealing just how integral such services have become to our daily online experience, from browsing and shopping to communication and work.
