Reddit Faces Major Outage: Thousands of Users Report Access Issues

September 16, 2025 — Washington, D.C. — Reddit, one of the world’s largest social media platforms, experienced a widespread outage on Tuesday, leaving thousands of users unable to access the site or its mobile app. The disruptions were first flagged by Downdetector, a website that tracks online service outages, which showed a sharp spike in user complaints beginning shortly after 10 a.m. ET.

Widespread Reports of Failure

According to Downdetector, more than 25,000 outage reports poured in within the first hour. Users across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several parts of Europe reported issues ranging from failed logins to error messages when trying to load subreddit feeds.

While some users noted that they could still browse Reddit in a limited “cached” mode, most reported that features such as posting, commenting, and refreshing feeds were completely unavailable. Mobile app users were particularly affected, with many reporting repeated crashes.

Reddit’s Response

As of mid-morning, Reddit’s official status page acknowledged the outage, citing “elevated error rates across web and mobile platforms.” Engineers confirmed they were investigating the issue but did not provide an estimated timeline for restoration.

A spokesperson for Reddit released a brief statement:

“We are aware that some users are currently unable to access Reddit. Our teams are actively working on identifying the root cause and restoring service as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.”

Social Media Reactions

The outage quickly became a trending topic on rival platforms, with frustrated users taking to X (formerly Twitter) and other forums to share memes, jokes, and speculation. Some humorously noted the irony that when Reddit goes down, users have no choice but to return to the very platforms they often criticize.

A Pattern of Technical Struggles

This is not the first time Reddit has experienced a major outage in 2025. In March, the platform suffered a similar global disruption linked to database overloads during a surge in traffic tied to a high-profile Ask Me Anything (AMA) session.

Industry experts suggest that as Reddit continues to expand its user base—boasting over 500 million monthly active users—the platform faces growing challenges in scaling infrastructure to handle peak demand.

For users tracking outages across multiple services, resources like Downdetector provide real-time updates and community reports that help identify whether disruptions are isolated or widespread.

Why It Matters

Reddit is more than just a social media site—it has become a hub for breaking news, investment chatter, niche communities, and online activism. When Reddit goes offline, millions of users lose access not only to entertainment but also to communities that function as support groups, knowledge-sharing hubs, and professional forums.

For advertisers and businesses, outages also mean a direct impact on engagement, visibility, and revenue streams, particularly for those running targeted ad campaigns.

Outlook

As of this writing, Reddit engineers continue to work toward restoring full service. The company has promised to share updates via its official status page and other channels as more information becomes available.

Observers note that frequent outages could undermine Reddit’s long-term growth strategy, particularly as it competes with platforms like X, Discord, and TikTok for user attention. Reliability, analysts argue, will be critical to maintaining Reddit’s unique position as a blend of social media, news aggregator, and online forum.

For now, millions of users remain in digital limbo, refreshing their browsers in hopes that Reddit will be back up and running soon.