What is Cloudflare and why is its outage a big deal?

Cloudflare is a platform that many websites use to improve performance and security. Its outage can affect a vast number of sites and services globally.

Which popular websites were affected by the Cloudflare outage?

Several popular platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Spotify, and OpenAI, reported issues or were down during the Cloudflare outage.

When did the Cloudflare outage happen and is it resolved?

The outage began on November 18, with Cloudflare reporting it had identified the issue and begun recovery efforts for some services.

Home / Technology / Global Websites Tumble in Cloudflare Outage

Global Websites Tumble in Cloudflare Outage

18 Nov, 2025

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Summary

Cloudflare experienced a significant outage on November 18, impacting many websites.
Major platforms like X, Spotify, and OpenAI were affected by the disruption.
Cloudflare identified and began addressing the issue impacting its network services.

Global Websites Tumble in Cloudflare Outage

Internet users worldwide encountered widespread website outages on November 18 due to a major disruption on the Cloudflare network. This critical internet infrastructure platform experienced an issue that impacted multiple customer websites, leading to significant downtime. Early reports indicated that thousands of users were affected across various popular services.

Platforms such as X, Spotify, OpenAI, and League of Legends were among those experiencing reported outages. Cloudflare acknowledged the problem before 7 a.m. EST and stated it was investigating. By shortly after 8 a.m. EST, the company reported identifying the issue and had begun restoring services, including Cloudflare Access and WARP.

The company continued its efforts to bring all services back online, providing updates on its status website. Cloudflare's role is crucial for many websites seeking to enhance their performance and reliability, making its outage a significant event for internet accessibility.