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Facebook tests snooze function for spoilers

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer
Johannesburg, 28 Jun 2018
Facebook now lets users snooze keywords.
Facebook now lets users snooze keywords.

In an effort to prevent spoilers for movies and television series, Facebook has unveiled a feature that lets users hide all posts containing certain keywords for up to 30 days.

"Ever read a spoiler online before you've watched the last episode of the season? Or maybe you waited years for a movie sequel only to have your favourite blogger reveal the ending?" asks Facebook news feed product manager Shruthi Muraleedharan in a blogpost.

"We've all been there. To prevent future heartache, we're beginning to test the next addition to our suite of News Feed controls, Keyword Snooze."

Previously, Facebook users could completely hide all posts from certain friends or companies without having to unfriend them or unlike the page.

This new snooze feature is located in an individual post's right-hand menu in the news feed. There will be an option for users to temporarily hide posts by keywords, which are pulled directly from text in that post.

For the next 30 days, Facebook will take all posts containing the exact phrase or word from any person, Facebook page or group, out of the user's news feed.

Muraleedharan says this feature, and others that let users see certain posts first or unfollow completely, was introduced because Facebook knows it doesn't always show users the most relevant posts and wants to tweak its algorithm to get it right.

"We hope that with additional options to help tailor your News Feed experience, you'll be able to spend more time focusing on the things that matter," says Muraleedharan.