Not too long ago we discussed the Tasker app, and if you are familiar with Tasker, you will know what IFTTT is about – the basic programming that does not require a degree in IT or experience. The difference is IFTTT deals with web services rather than OS. Just as any programming tool, it does require a technical set of thinking to be able to come up with rules, but the app does the programming part for you. Let us take a look at what this free app has to offer.
How It Works
IFTTT allows you to create your own rules to automate your device’s performance n=based on recipes, which contain a trigger [If This] and an action [Then That].
IFTTT is an extremely useful app, which allows you to synchronize various apps and devices. The iOS app was released over a year ago, and it took the developers this much to release an Android version. It probably goes without saying a Windows Phone app is not on the horizon, yet. Nonetheless, the Android app is not inferior to the iOS counterpart, offering a wealth of Android-only features. The Android app adds 6 more channels, WiFi being one of the noteworthy ones. It allows you to enable various recipes based on to which WiFi network your device gets connected to. For example, you can enable the Silent Mode on your device once it gets connected to your office network.
You can have your Gmail attachments saved automatically to your Google Drive, or have your liked videos shared to Twitter, also automatically. IFTTT supports 98 channels, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, popular weather services, while every channel has a unique set of recipes you can enable.
Interface and Functionality
The app is Android 4.0+ compatible, and you will need to set up an account with it. Once the set up is done, you sign in, get the idea of the set of recipes, view the recipes shared by other users, share your own custom-created recipes, or choose from the large number of pre-set recipes.
When you tap on the browse button, you get access to the collections of recipes, trending, featured, and a search option. Collections have plenty of recipes based on specific themes, like nature, sports, photography, music and more.
Channels need to be enabled individually, though. For example, a weather channel will need access to your location, while other channels may have different set of authorization requests; hence, you need to authorize them on individual basis.
Another nifty channel is Android-location, which enables you to launch recipes based on your GPS coordinates. The Android SMS channel allows for a quick SMS shot, for example, once you leave the office, or if you miss a phone call.
Enabled recipes are displayed on My Recipes window, where you can enable-disable them with a single tap.
My Recipes
Creating your own recipes is a great entertainment, too. First, you choose the trigger from the existing set of triggers and set its date and time (if it comprises such conditions). For example, a trigger can be a specific date and time, or an outgoing phone call, or a new image snapped, or a specific Wi-Fi network connection.
Now that the trigger is set, you can get to defining the action: send an email, upload to Google Drive, share on Twitter, send a text message or a notification in the status bar.
Final Thoughts
IFTTT is primarily an iOS app, so you might notice some iOS specific terms in recipes descriptions, but let us hope the developers sort it out in the nearest future.
Obviously, the app needs access to your Settings, read location data, send SMS, control notifications, phone calls, access images in your gallery and more – all of that is necessary to perform the recipes.
For example, it can shuffle your device’s wallpapers after each published Instagram snapshot, or send a text message to your wife when you leave the office so that she knows when to heat the meal or kick out a lover. Another great recipe is to have the phone beep if it receives a text message with a specific “Where the hell is my phone” text, in case it gets lost while in silent mode. The number of recipes is virtually unlimited.
The Android IFTTP app is customized for both smartphone and tablet use, while it also has an iOS and web counterparts.
