Spoiler Alert! Google may roll out a media-tracking system that allows users to easily avoid information about TV episodes that they haven’t yet caught up on.
On April. 7 the search engine and tech giant was granted a patent for a spoiler-filtration system.
This new program would track users’ media consumption and filter out search results, social media posts, or comments that contain information pertaining to events or episodes they haven’t yet seen.
The patent contains an image of what this new program might look like:
Spoilers are an unfortunate reality of the Internet. With the rise of instant streaming and binge-watching, audiences are posting and debating endlessly about their favourite shows.
Because of this, new viewers often accidentally discover important plot points or (worst of all) character deaths in a series they have yet to finish.
The program would require the user to opt-in, a feature that should ease the worries of anyone uncomfortable with the idea of Google knowing what they watch on TV.
It’s not clear yet which social networks this program would affect, especially concerning those (such as Facebook and Twitter) not owned by Google.
In a statement, a Google spokesperson said that just because a patent was filed, it doesn’t mean the spoiler-free dream will become a reality.
She noted that many Google patents never become Google products, so TV-addicts shouldn’t get their hopes up too quickly.
