Google Patents Social Media Spoiler Software

There are few things more frustrating than the speed with which the Internet posts spoilers. The second a character dies on TV, there are hundreds of online articles about it, and thousands of tweets. If there's a surprise in a movie? Good luck holding that for the opening. The second something is seen, avoiding the spoiler is like navigating a mine field. Your Twitter, Facebook, and daily conversations all become potential places to be spoiled.

Now, in their continuing bid for world domination, Google has created a software to protect you from that. It learns what shows, books and movies you watch and then will blur out social media spoilers until you are ready to read them. Find out more about the Google spoiler software below.

The full U.S patent for the software can be read at this link. Thanks to Quartz for the heads up. The full patent has diagrams, descriptions, and so much more. Here's just one example but, beware, it's the dryest, law-infused language ever:

The disclosure includes a system and method for processing content spoilers. The system includes a controller, a progress module, a determination module, a warning module and a presentation module. The controller receives activity data describing an activity performed by a first user and content data published by a second user. The progress module determines a first progress stage for a subject associated with the activity based at least in part on the activity data. The determination module determines whether the content data includes a spoiler for the first user based at least in part on the first progress stage. Responsive to the determination that the content data includes the spoiler, the warning module obscures the content data published by the second user from the first user and generates a spoiler warning. The presentation module provides the spoiler warning to the first user.

While the patent and subsequent articles do a good job of explaining how the software would work, it doesn't say how and when it might be implemented. For example, if this is Google software, could it be used on Twitter or Facebook? Or would it just be on Google Plus?

In theory though, this is a positive step forward for the bombshells of social media. You tell a software what you don't want to read about, then it asks if you if you want to see subsequent links. What do you think of this Google spoiler software?

Header image: Spoilt by Olly Moss