YouTube’s comment section is a huge part of its community experience. However, for movies, TV shows, sports, or game highlights, spoiler comments often appear at the very top (“The killer is…”, “Team X wins in the last minute”, etc.).
This ruins the viewing experience for first-time watchers. Many users avoid comments altogether to prevent spoilers, which reduces engagement and discussion.
Other platforms (Twitter/X, Reddit) have introduced spoiler-hiding tools, but YouTube does not yet provide this.
Comments drive community discussion, but spoilers discourage interaction.
A balance must be found between protecting new viewers and allowing open community contributions.
Improve user experience for viewers of story-driven and live event content.
Encourage more users to engage with comments after watching, instead of avoiding them.
Position YouTube as more viewer-first and spoiler-aware, especially for movie/show/sports publishers.
Viewers of entertainment or live event content who want a spoiler-free experience.
Content creators who want their audiences to enjoy full viewing without spoilers ruining it.
Casual fans who may not even realize comments can spoil the experience until it happens.
How can YouTube protect first-time viewers from spoilers in comments while still preserving freedom of discussion in the community?
Design the UI flow + key screens for a spoiler-hiding system:
Default Spoiler Shield – When first playing a video, comments are collapsed/blurred with a message like “Comments may contain spoilers. View after watching?”
Spoiler Toggle – A simple on/off switch for hiding/unhiding comments.
Automatic Spoiler Detection (Optional) – AI detects spoiler keywords (e.g., “dies,” “wins,” “killer”) and hides them selectively.
Creator Control – Creators can choose to enable spoiler protection for their videos by default.
User Education – Short tooltip explaining why comments are hidden, so users don’t get confused.
Must be lightweight and not slow down loading.
Spoiler shield should not feel like censorship — users must be in control.
Should work across mobile, web, and TV apps.
AI detection should be assistive, not absolute (avoid false positives).