Here’s an awesome life hack for those of you who seek a spoiler-free Twitter feed:
Advanced muting features were initially rolled out on Twitter to combat harassment, but users of the social media platform have discovered that they also serve as a handy tool to avoid spoilers.
Users have previously been able to mute tweets from other accounts from appearing in their timeline, but as announced in November, Twitter now allows for muting of specific words, phrases and hashtags. Users can also control how long the effect lasts — for a day, a week, a month or forever.
As Vanity Fair pointed out, fans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” could mute words related to the show until they’ve had a chance to watch the episode. Twitter product manager Rishi Tembe told the magazine that “Gilmore Girls” was one of the most-muted keywords after the new features were launched in November, around the time the revival “A Year in the Life” premiered on Netflix.
Twitter users have constantly engaged in heated debates about spoiler etiquette, most memorably after a major character was brought back to life on “Game of Thrones” last season and users on the west coast were spoiled about the development before the episode even aired in their time zone.
“Now, whether people are in a different time zone, or just can’t make it home in time for their favorite show, they’ll be able to better avoid spoilers on the platform,” Tembe said.
You can mute words, phrases, and hashtags for a set time period in your timeline and notifications.
Now on iOS.https://t.co/jhWKRu0cK1 pic.twitter.com/OPMeLDm8T7
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) March 27, 2017