Spoiler Alert: Facebook Adds ‘Keyword Snooze’ to News Feed

Facebook today is adding a Keyword Snooze feature to its News Feed controls that will help users from seeing comments from friends about TV shows and movies they haven’t watched yet.

Keyword Snooze, which is being tested by the social platform, will also help sports fans who record games from seeing scores prematurely, something that might be a benefit to World Cup fans these days.

With so many people watching programming on a delayed basis, Facebook said the tool would be helpful to fan, and also to studios and networks that want viewers to watch shows on DVR and on demand platforms.

The feature has other uses, such as cutting off the stream of June wedding season photos.

Facebook said users can’t use Keyword Snooze on advertisements. It works only on organic content. And it works only in the New Feed section, not on the video-focused Watch section.

Users can activate the Keyword Snooze feature by going to the News Feed Menu while reading a post about the subject you want to avoid. Once you click snooze, all posts from people, pages and group containing the exact phrase will be hidden from the users News Feed for 30 days. Examples of Keywords one might snooze include World Cup, Avengers or Westworld.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.