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A major Cloudflare outage disrupted websites like ChatGPT, X and Shopify for hours. Here’s what caused the issue, how it affected millions of users and how Cloudflare restored its services.
Cloudflare Outage: A Sudden Halt to Global Web Traffic
A major Cloudflare outage on Tuesday morning created widespread internet disruption, affecting several popular platforms across the world. For hours, users were unable to access websites such as ChatGPT, Shopify, Indeed, Claude, Truth Social and X. Even NJ Transit’s online tools went down, showing just how large the impact was.
The issue started around 6:20 a.m. ET when Cloudflare detected a spike in unusual traffic moving through one of its core services. This unexpected surge triggered errors across the network, causing slow loading, broken pages and complete outages on many major sites.
Cloudflare later announced that a fix had been implemented by 9:57 a.m. ET. Most affected websites began recovering shortly after the patch was applied, although some users still faced dashboard issues for a short while. The company said it was monitoring everything closely to make sure all systems were stable again.
Why the Cloudflare Outage Hit So Many Websites
Cloudflare is one of the world’s largest internet infrastructure companies. Its services help manage and protect traffic for almost 20% of the entire web. This includes security tools, routing, and strong protection against DDoS attacks.
Because of this massive reach, even a small issue can create a ripple effect across hundreds of platforms.
Some of the platforms affected during the outage included:
- ChatGPT
- Shopify
- Indeed
- Claude AI
- Truth Social
- X (formerly Twitter)
- NJ Transit tools
OpenAI also reported that ChatGPT and its Sora video app were impacted due to an issue with a “third-party service provider,” which matched the Cloudflare disruption.
Comparison: Cloudflare Outage vs Other Recent Major Tech Outages
Over the past year, the internet has faced several large outages linked to global service providers. The table below shows how the Cloudflare outage compares to other major incidents:
| Outage Event | Cause | Impact | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare (Nov 2025) | Spike in unusual traffic | Major websites down globally | Few hours |
| AWS (Oct 2025) | Infrastructure disruption | Multiple online services stopped | Nearly full day |
| Microsoft Azure (Oct 2025) | Global cloud failure | 365 services and apps offline | Several hours |
| CrowdStrike (July 2024) | Faulty software update | Flights halted, hospitals delayed services | Widespread, global |
This comparison shows that outages are becoming more common across big tech providers, highlighting how interconnected the internet has become.
Market Impact and Industry Reaction
Cloudflare shares dropped more than 3% following the outage, reflecting the pressure on infrastructure companies to maintain stability. When a service that supports a large part of the internet faces issues, it raises concern not only for businesses but also for millions of everyday users who depend on these platforms.
At the same time, the quick response from Cloudflare helped limit long-term damage. The company confirmed that teams were working “all hands on deck” to investigate the unusual traffic spike and prevent such incidents in the future.
What This Means for Users and Businesses
The outage is a reminder of how dependent the modern web is on infrastructure providers. When one system fails, even for a short time, it can interrupt communication, online shopping, job searches, transport updates and daily workflows.
Still, Cloudflare’s fast fix restored stability within hours, and most platforms returned to normal operations soon after. As companies continue to rely on cloud and security services, the demand for more resilient systems will only grow.