Your Privacy is Important to us

We encourage you to review our Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms listed here. In case you want to opt out, please click "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in the footer of this page.

Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

We won't sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously.

Continue on TOI App
Open App
Login for better experience!
Login Now
Welcome! to timesofindia.com
TOI INDTOI USTOI GCC
TOI+
  • Home
  • Live
  • TOI Games
  • Top Headlines
  • India
  • City News
  • Photos
  • Business
  • Real Estate
  • Entertainment
  • Movie Reviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcasts
  • Elections
  • Web Series
  • Sports
  • TV
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Events
  • World
  • Music
  • Astrology
  • Videos
  • Tech
  • Auto
  • Education
  • Log Out
Follow Us On
Open App
  • ETIMES
  • CINEMA
  • VIDEOS
  • TV
  • LIFESTYLE
  • VISUAL STORIES
  • MUSIC
  • TRAVEL
  • FOOD
  • TRENDING
  • EVENTS
  • THEATRE
  • PHOTOS
  • MOVIE REVIEWS
  • MOVIE LISTINGS
  • HEALTH
  • RELATIONSHIP
  • WEB SERIES
  • BOX OFFICE

​What is Cloudflare and why is it impacting so many websites on the internet

etimes.in | Last updated on - Nov 18, 2025, 20:04 IST
Share
1/6

​What is Cloudflare and why is it impacting so many websites on the internet

Cloudflare is a cornerstone of modern internet infrastructure or a collection of many parts of the internet. It is a company that many people may not even notice, but whose impact is felt every time they visit a website. Today thousands of users have faced a Cloudflare outage, which made users only question, “Why is this not working” while they tried opening a webpage.

2/6

Cloudflare outage causes chaos online

Today thousands of users have faced a Cloudflare outage on the internet, after visiting many operational websites of popular platforms like, ChatGPT, Twitter, Canva, Shopify and many more and it became a trending topic of discussion online, where many people started searching about the reason behind the outage of the platform and the knowhow behind it.

It provides services that make websites faster, safer, and more reliable by protecting them from cyberattacks, spreading content efficiently across the globe, and acting as a shield between web hosts and malicious users.

However, because so many sites trust Cloudflare for these critical functions, problems at Cloudflare itself can create ripple effects. When its systems go down or misbehave, large parts of the internet feel the shock.

3/6

What is Cloudflare

Cloudflare is a technology company that provides a range of internet infrastructure services. At its core, it offers a global network (a CDN) that speeds up websites by caching content closer to users, and acts as a reverse proxy to handle, filter, and route traffic. It also provides security solutions like DDoS protection, web application firewalls, and SSL/TLS encryption to shield websites from attacks.

4/6

Why so many websites depend on it

Many website operators choose Cloudflare because it solves critical problems cheaply and at scale. It makes websites faster globally by distributing content across hundreds of data centres. It also offers strong protection against traffic surges and malicious attacks, absorbing potentially harmful traffic before it reaches the origin servers. Moreover, its edge-computing platform enables developers to run code close to users, improving performance.

5/6

Cloudflare responds to the issue

The website issued a statement writing, “Cloudflare is aware of, and investigating an issue which potentially impacts multiple customers,” the company said in a new update. “Further detail will be provided as more information becomes available.”
Tracking website Down Detector, which monitors outages, was also hit by the technical problems itself. But when it loaded it showed a dramatic spike in problems.
Affected users saw a message indicating there was an “internal server error on Cloudflare’s network”. It asked users to “please try again in a few minutes”.

6/6

Why is Cloudflare not working and when will it be restored

Cloudflare’s outage has now stretched beyond two hours, and major platforms like ChatGPT, X, and even Down Detector are still affected. There’s still no clear timeline for when services will fully recover.

Cloudflare hasn’t offered any estimate on how long fixes might take, and at one point even suggested the issue had been resolved when it actually wasn’t. For now, the company has only said “Investigating - Cloudflare is experiencing an internal service degradation. Some services may be intermittently impacted. We are focused on restoring service..”

Start a Conversation

Post comment
Photostories
  • 10 strangest trees in the world and where can travellers can find them
  • 10 deadliest snakes in the world: One drop of venom can kill hundreds; what travellers should know
  • 5 smart style hacks to look slimmer in a saree
  • 7 Affordable décor ideas for a bachelor's studio room
  • How to make light and comforting Soy and Mushroom Fried Rice for lunch
  • Top 5 residential areas in Bhubaneswar for property investment
  • How Ananya Birla absolutely owned her Met Gala debut with three couture looks and left no crumbs
  • Operation Sindoor anniversary: How India’s 88-hour military response played out - in photos
  • What attracts snakes to your home and garden
  • 6 things kids should know about love, boundaries and respect before growing up
Explore more Stories
  • 8
    Are you storing fruits all wrong? Why your fridge may be ruining their taste, nutrition, and shelf life
  • 5
    Comfort foods that are the quiet healers of your body (health benefits inside)
  • 7
    From human-sized birds to pebble ‘proposals’: 6 facts that will change how you see penguins
  • 10
    From mamba to kingsnake: 8 black snake species that will surprise you for unusual reasons
  • 6
    Stop buying the wrong cooking oil: American Heart Association recommends 8 heart-smart oils with smart cooking tips
Up Next
  • News
  • /
  • Etimes
  • /
  • Trending
  • /
  • ​What is Cloudflare and why is it impacting so many websites on the internet
About UsTerms Of UsePrivacy PolicyCookie Policy

Copyright © May 7, 2026, 02.08PM IST Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service