This was probably bound to happen.
Despite Disney’s best efforts, the full version of Avengers: Endgame has leaked online, according to TorrentFreak. And as you’d expect, it’s spreading like wildfire.
While it’s not as catastrophic as it could be (the film begins screenings Thursday night), it’s another layer of aggravation for fans who are hoping to go into the theater without knowing anything about the ultimate fate of their favorite characters. And Disney lawyers will certainly do their best to stop the spread of the film, if for no other reasons than financial, but given the unprecedented anticipation for Endgame, that’s likely to be a losing battle.
It was just over a week ago that spoilers about the film began to spread across Twitter and Reddit, prompting Disney to launch a hashtag #DontSpoilTheEndgame and a posted letter from the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, to fans asking them to not spread any plot points they might learn.
If you were unable to get an early ticket for the film and want to remain spoiler free, there are a few tricks you can use, short of abandoning all social media.
Browser-based spoiler protection
Selectively block phrases or words in Chrome or Firefox with the Spoiler Protection 2.0 add-on. Once installed, click on the icon in the top right corner of your browser and enter phrases that could be problematic (such as the film’s name, characters, etc.)
The app will redact anything with those phrases on Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit as well as associated images.
Avoiding Avengers: Endgame spoilers on Twitter
The “mute” feature can be your best friend when leaks like this occur. Head into your settings and privacy options, then “muted words”.
As before, enter words and phrases that people intent on spoiling the film might use. Don’t forget hashtags like #AvengeTheFallen and even Disney’s #DontSpoilTheEndgame.
Avoiding Avengers: Endgame spoilers on Reddit
This one’s a little trickier, since Reddit has fewer controls. Your best bet is to avoid the obvious forums, like /r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers and stay away from ones that revel in mischief like /r/dankmemes and /r/ImGoingToHellForThis. It’s probably smart to avoid sorting posts by “new” until you’ve seen the film, too.