ChatGPT, Perplexity and Canva down: Meaning of the ‘please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed’ error explained

A major Cloudflare outage on 18 November 2025 took down thousands of websites across the world—including social networks, payment apps, gaming platforms, AI tools, and even design services like Canva. Millions of users suddenly began seeing the now-viral message:

“please unblock challenges.cloudflare.com to proceed.”

Here’s a short, accurate breakdown of what caused the disruption, which platforms were affected, when the outage was resolved, and how users can stay prepared for similar incidents.

What Does “Please Unblock challenges.cloudflare.com” Actually Mean?

Cloudflare uses a challenge verification feature to check whether visitors are genuine humans and not bots or suspicious traffic. Normally, these appear as quick browser checks or CAPTCHAs.

The error occurs when:

• the browser cannot load Cloudflare’s verification service,
• or security tools like ad-blockers, VPNs, or custom DNS settings interfere with it.

During the outage, Cloudflare’s own verification servers failed, which meant users saw the error even with normal browser settings. Essentially, the challenge page itself broke, preventing websites from authenticating visitors.

Which Websites Were Down During the Cloudflare Outage?

The outage had a massive global footprint. Confirmed affected platforms included:

• X (formerly Twitter)
• X (formerly Twitter)
• OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Sora
• Perplexity AI
• League of Legends, Valorant (gaming)
• PayPal, Uber Eats (services/finance)
• Crypto exchanges including BitMEX
• Downdetector.com
• Canva

This highlights how deeply the internet relies on a few infrastructure providers like Cloudflare.

Cloudflare Outage Timeline (Confirmed)

• 5:20 AM EST (10:20 UTC) — Outage begins; error screens spike worldwide
• 9:30 AM EST (2:30 PM UTC) — Cloudflare deploys a fix
• Next 1–2 hours — Websites gradually return to normal
• Full recovery — Within roughly 5 hours of the initial disruption

Some regions still reported delayed loading or patchy access for a short while after.

How Users Can Stay Prepared During Major Tech Outages

Tech outages can interrupt everything from payments to weather alerts. Simple steps can help:

• Switch browsers or temporarily disable ad-blockers/privacy extensions
• Restart Wi-Fi or switch to mobile data
• Clear browser cache to remove corrupted redirects
• Save essential information offline (e.g., weather alerts, travel details)
• Use alternate access channels like mobile apps, SMS, or radio
• Follow verified sources such as Skymet Weather for real-time updates when websites fail

These habits help maintain access to critical information even during widespread digital failures.

Why Internet Outages Like This Are Increasing

With the internet handling billions of security checks and requests every day, services like Cloudflare constantly filter traffic to prevent attacks.

The combination of:

• rising cyber threats,
• enormous global traffic, and
• increased automation

means even a small configuration error or server glitch can cause global ripple effects.

The 18 November outage showed how quickly the web can slow down when a key infrastructure layer breaks.

Did Skymet Get Affected?

No.

Skymet’s website, app, and alert systems remained completely unaffected throughout the Cloudflare outage.

While major platforms including X, ChatGPT, Canva, PayPal, and multiple global news sites went down, Skymet’s services stayed stable, accessible, and fully operational. Users continued receiving uninterrupted weather forecasts, alerts, and updates during the global disruption.

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Skymet is India’s most accurate private weather forecasting and climate intelligence company, providing reliable weather data, monsoon updates, and agri-risk management solutions across the country.