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I wasn’t able to watch last weekend’s “Breaking Bad” finale on the night it aired, meaning I faced a risk bigger than Walter White taking on Gus Fring: spoilers.
Come Monday morning, one look at Facebook or Twitter and I’d almost certainly read something that gave away important plot points. And I’m spoiler-averse right down to my very core. But other than imposing a total social-media blackout, at least until I was able to watch the episode, what could I do?
Spoiler Shield for iOS to the rescue. (It’s coming soon for Android.) This ingenious app filters your Facebook and/or Twitter feeds so you can stay social-media active while avoiding accidental spoilers. And it works with not only TV shows, but also NFL and MLB — nice for those who like to record games for later viewing.
The app is basically a Facebook and Twitter viewer (you’ll need to grant it access to your accounts) that blocks whatever you tell it to block (from a preset list). For example, in the NFL and MLB categories, you can choose one or more teams to “shield.” Likewise, the app can put up shields for more than 30 TV shows, from “American Idol” to “Game of Thrones” to “True Blood.”
If any of these blocked items appears in your Facebook or Twitter feed, you’ll see a Spoiler Shield banner where the post would usually be. If you decide you want to read what’s behind it, just double-tap. Simple and effective.
While viewing your feeds, you have the usual basic interaction options: “liking” and commenting for Facebook, starring and retweeting for Twitter. Both also let you post status updates.
The only downside I see is that Spoiler Shield doesn’t yet support other sports (basketball and hockey, for example), and its TV list could definitely do with some expansion. Where’s “Castle,” for example? Where are “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (talk about a no-brainer: it has “shield” right in the title!) and even “Parenthood”? It would be nice if you could configure your own shields based on keywords. And what about movies? I still haven’t forgiven the so-called friend who revealed a key “Star Trek Into Darkness” plot point.
Those gripes aside, this is a must-have app for the spoiler-averse.
