Cloudflare, the internet’s backbone for millions of sites, suffered a widespread outage early Friday, triggering 500 Internal Server Errors that knocked out services like Canva, Shopify stores, Zoom, LinkedIn and Downdetector.
The disruption, which began around 4:00 AM UTC, has left users worldwide frustrated as key online tools grind to a halt.
What Caused the Downtime?
Cloudflare confirmed a “service degradation” affecting its global network, though details remain sparse. Scheduled maintenance in the Chicago (ORD) datacenter from 7:00 to 11:00 UTC may be linked, but the outage has rippled far beyond.
Company status page shows “ongoing investigation” with no ETA for full restoration.
Sites and Services Affected
The fallout has been swift and broad:
- Canva: Design platform down for users globally, halting creative workflows.
- Shopify: Online stores showing errors, disrupting e-commerce during peak holiday shopping.
- Zoom: Video calls failing, impacting remote work and meetings.
- LinkedIn: Profile access and job searches interrupted.
- Downdetector: Ironically offline, preventing outage tracking.
Thousands of smaller sites and apps relying on Cloudflare’s CDN and security features are also experiencing crashes.
User Reactions Pour In
Social media is flooded with complaints. On X (formerly Twitter), #CloudflareOutage trends with users venting: “Can’t even check if it’s down because Downdetector is down too!” and “Shopify outage right before Black Friday? Perfect timing.”
One frustrated designer posted: “Mid-project on Canva and poof — gone. Thanks, Cloudflare.”
Impact on Businesses and Users
For e-commerce giants like Shopify, the timing is disastrous amid holiday rushes. Developers report API failures, while everyday users can’t access protected sites.
Cloudflare powers 20% of the web, so even partial downtime creates a domino effect.
What’s Next?
Engineers are working around the clock, but no firm resolution timeline has been shared. Past outages, like November’s, were resolved in hours, but this one shows no signs of quick fixes.
Stay tuned for updates — in the meantime, check Cloudflare’s status page or switch to backups if available.
READ ALSO: Immigrants, Media ‘At Risk’ During 2026 World Cup
Armenian Dram
Ghana Cedi
Gambian Dalasi
Guinea Franc
Nigerian Naira
CFA Franc BEAC
