Taking the meaning of “censorship” to a whole new level, Google is working on a system to protect its users… from spoilers.
Clearly, our safety is very important to Google. But we’re not talking privacy here, we’re talking TV show enjoyment.
With the increasing globalization the internet provides, there’s a growing demand for simultaneous release of TV shows across the globe. After all, if you’re a The 100 fan in the U.K., it’s gotta be pretty hard to stay spoiler-free considering season 2 is long over in America, yet you’re still on season 2, episode 14.
And of course, due to the many streaming and DVR options available, many people are simply choosing to put off watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead. Netflix’s bulk-season releases also means that some of your friends probably plough through the latest season of House of Cards faster than you.
Or maybe you still haven’t watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and accidentally throw your computer across the room whenever you stumble across an article about it.
See? There are many reasons why an anti-spoiler device is actually a pretty good idea.
That’s why Google is developing a system, for which they’ve just been awarded the patent, which aims to save you from the spoilers. (At least online. We don’t think Google has developed the tools yet to censor out the “Dumbledore dies” jackass.)
The system would track your progress as you watch shows and movies, and then blur out any content it finds that may be related to a certain show on social media platforms.
Of course the first worry that comes to mind is probably: would Google really be tracking my browsing history? But, you know what? They already are.
We look forward to seeing how this develops. It might be a good tool for one or two key shows, but we doubt we’d use it for all the shows we watch… we’d end up blocking out half the internet!
