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Facebook and Twitter can be a minefield when it comes to spoilers for popular TV shows and films. 

But Google has won a patent to protect you from accidentally discovering what happens to the likes of Frank Underwood in House of Cards, or which Game of Thrones character will be the next to die.

Its proposed system scans for spoilers in posts on social networks and automatically blurs out the content before showing a warning message. 

Google's patent details a system in which a user would record their viewing or reading progress on social media. The system would then scan posts to see if they contain spoilers and blur out the content before showing a pop-up warning message. Users could then choose to show the content or keep it hidden

The Californian tech giant filed the patent in 2012 and it was published earlier this week, despite being awarded in April 2014. 

Users of an unspecified social network would manually input how many pages they had read in a book, how many minutes they were into a film, or which episode and series they were on in a TV show. 

This progress would be shown as a percentage and would be compared to the viewing or reading progress of their friends. 

When a friend who is further along in a TV show, film or book posts on the social network Google's patented system would scan the text for potential spoilers. 

The patent doesn't reveal in detail whether it would know the plot points for all books and shows, or whether the scan would be based purely on this percentage. 

If it believes it has identified a potential spoiler, the text of the post would be blurred out automatically for anyone who hadn't reached that particular percentage. 

A message would then appear to warn other users the post may contain spoilers and to approach with caution. 

The user can then decide to show the content, or leave it hidden.

Meanwhile, friends could also use the system to flag up that their post contains potential spoilers. 

'People frequently share information with other users in a social network, explained the patent. 

'However, the information shared by a user may include spoilers for other users. 

'People frequently share information with other users in a social network, explained the patent. 'However, the information shared by a user may include spoilers for other users.' The system would stop spoilers for the likes of Game of Thrones (left) and The Walking Dead (right) being posted in full to Facebook and Twitter

In addition to TV shows, the patent applies to films and books (pictured), but it doesn't reveal in detail whether it would know the plot points for all books and shows, or whether the scan would be based purely on this percentage. As with all patents, the filing doesn't confirm Google is working on the system

'On the other hand, if a user knows that another user can provide the spoiling information, the user can explicitly ask the other user for the spoilers. 

'[We propose] a method of determining a progress stage for a subject associated with the activity, receiving content data published by a second user; determining whether the content includes a spoiler for the first user [and] obscuring the content.'

This system could be added to Google's own Google+, for example, or it could be installed as an app to other social networks - although the patent doesn't detail which method it would use. 

As with all patents, the filing doesn't confirm Google is working on the system and a spokesman told MailOnline it doesn't discuss patents. 

Netflix recently launched a website that deliberately shows people spoilers. Called 'Living with spoilers' users can click through various scenes and  each shows a video clip from a show that reveals a major plot point