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Who doesn’t want their life to be easier? Yes, you can hire a personal assistant if you’re a Hollywood star but if you’re not, you can use tech for free!
IFTTT (a/k/a If This Then That), the website that helps you automate your life, has three new apps and one re-branded app to make it even easier to make your life easier. With these new apps you can perform cumbersome tasks with just a tap or two of your mobile device.
What could be easier?
About IFTTT
IFTTT is based on If This Then That recipes to automate tasks. Setting up a recipe is simple and may alert you to important events, save you time, organize your life and make interacting with others easier.
1. You set up recipes by connecting your accounts to activate channels such as Twitter, Gmail, Facebook, Dropbox, text messages etc. You can activate channels using the IFTTT website or any of the apps.
2. If — Then you create triggers such as:
- Snow is in my local weather forecast
- I was tagged in a Facebook photo
- One of my tweets was favorited
- A VIP sent me an email
3. Then — Choose your results, for example:
- Text me
- Email me
- Post to Facebook
- Send to Dropbox
[tip] For a full review of IFTTT check out IFTTT- Tech to Make Your Life Easier! [/tip]
You can also find thousands of recipes that have already been created by other IFTTT users.
Sample IFTTT Recipe:
See Gizmodo, 15 Clever Recipes to Try With IFTTT’s New Do Apps
3 New Do Apps
Last week IFTTT launched three new apps that make performing tasks super easy.
- Do Button
- Do Note
- Do Camera
Each app has unique features to make task easier. With the Do apps you can use your phone to perform tasks such as:
- Turn your lights on and off
- Send your location in a text message
- Post photos to social media as you take them
- Set the temperature of your home
and much more.
Note that not all IFTTT recipes are available for the Do apps and you need to register for an IFTTT account for these apps to work.
[tip] If you get the Do apps plus the IF app, you can create an IF/Do folder on your iPhone or iPad.
See, How to Create App Folders for Your iPhone and iPad to learn how to create app folders. [/tip]
The IF App
The IFTTT app has been re-branded as the IF app and given an appearance similar to the three Do apps. The IF app lets you access all of your recipes and create new ones.
The IF App is available free for:
IF App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Do Button App
The Do Button app is designed to be the easiest way to get things done. The Do button minimizes the number of taps you need to make something happen.
Do Button is my favorite of all the Do apps because it’s so convenient to use.
With the Do app you create buttons you can tap to perform a task. That’s right, just tap that button to turn on your lights, send a text, post to Facebook, etc.
iOS Do Button App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
On your iDevice the Do button app lets you create three buttons which then become widgets on your Today screen.
Here’s how to use the Do Button app:
1. Download the free Do Button app from the iTunes App Store and log into your IFTTT account.
2. You’ll be shown recipes available for the Do Button. You can search for recipes or look for them under these categories:
- Do Essentials
- Do Home
- Do Work
3. Pick up to three recipes you want one-button access to. The app lets you test your buttons to see how they work.
4. Next you need to add the Do Button app as a widget to your Today screen. Swipe down from the top of any screen to access your Today screen.
5. Tap the Edit button at the bottom of your Today screen and find the Do Button app.
6. Tap the green button to add the Do button to your Today screen.
Swipe from any screen to access the Today screen, then tap the button you want to use.
The next time you open your Today screen, you’ll see your three Do buttons ready for you to tap.
Boom! You’re done and ready to start having an easier life.
I tested a Buffer button in the Do Button app that allowed me to send this tweet:
Do Button pressed on February 21, 2015 at 03:40PM https://t.co/M6BCnqJrMw — CarolynNicanderMohr (@wonderoftech) February 21, 2015
Android
Download the free Do Button app at Google Play and log into your IFTTT account. Follow Steps 2 and 3 above for the iOS app.
You can add up to three Do buttons and use them as widgets on your home screen.
Do Camera App
The Do Camera app is handy if you want to organize your photos and post your photos to social media quickly and easily. If you’re the type of person who likes to edit your photos and add filters before you post, then you would probably only use Do Camera to organize your photos.
With Do Camera you can choose recipes such as:
- Remind me where and when I got this business card in Evernote
- Send this photo to Dropbox
- Post this photo to Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Email myself this photo
- Remember my favorite wines in Evernote
With Do Camera you take the photo from within the app so you must give permission for the app access to your camera.
Do Camera is available free for:
Do Camera for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Do Note App
The Do Note app helps you organize your notes. You can choose recipes within the app to have them handy. For example, you can use Do Note to:
- Create a grocery list and save it to Google Drive
- Make a gift list and save it to Evernote
- Add a project deadline to Google Calendar
- Create a blog post draft and save it to WordPress
Do Note is available free for:
Do Note for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Your Thoughts
Have you used IFTTT recipes to make your life easier? Are you excited about these new apps? Which recipes and apps will be most useful to you? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
This app looks so interesting 🙂
No, I’d not heard of IFTTT before this post, so all of this was new to me! I love the name as well, so apt! I think it’s wonderful because you mentioned recipes, and I love to cook, so it would be fun to see and cook along. Never tried that except for the little YouTube videos I might use occasionally when I am cooking something that needs a little guidance.
I must share this for I know all those using apps would love this. You know me Carolyn, I still need to get the hang of using my cell phone and each of your posts keeps inspiring me to start soon one day!
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, if you can cook, you can make an IFTTT recipe. Hey, even if you can’t cook you can still use IFTTT, it’s that easy!
Yes, you can get started with the IFTTT website to find some great recipes to use. Bloggers can link their WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger accounts to help with their many blogging tasks. You can also find handy recipes for email and social media.
I think you’ll really enjoy exploring IFTTT recipes, Harleena!
Only if it was easier to make life easier with tech. IMO, life keeps becoming more and more complex with more and more tech. And you hear this from a tech geek, not from someone who’s not tech-savvy! Agree?
That said, IFTTT is very good for automating tasks. I signed up with IFTTT years ago, but didn’t really use it. Time to start using this service.
… only if IFTTT could automate (or better, post) comment on wonderoftech.com and some other blogs, whenever I get an e-mail notification about a new post … 🙂
The sad thing about tech is, spammers and the bad guys also get to use these technologies to do their dirty work, much more efficiently. I recently read somewhere, more spam e-mails are sent by devices other than computers. Imagine a toaster hack into your bank account. Yes, that’s very possible.
I don’t have an Android phone, I have an old Nokia smartphone, still. I know IFTTT won’t work on it. I guess I can do something like, whenever I get an attachment in my non-GMail e-mail, save it automatically to Dropbox?
Thanks for the post and for reminding, I need to re-check/use IFTTT.
Hi Raspal, Yes, complex tech is relative. I imagine if we went back to the early part of last century automobiles would seem complicated, imagine being one of the first people to use a telephone, or TV or radio. Each step in tech may seem complex at first but before long we’re used to it and ready to conquer the next advancement.
That being said, IFTTT really is easy. You can create your own recipe by choosing the channel, trigger and result. But even easier is using a recipe already created by someone else.
I hope you do explore IFTTT again, Raspal, even if you don’t have an iPhone or Android phone.
Those apps are brilliant.
And I am not. So we seem like a perfect match. I need to check them out, like, yesterday.
Thanks for the great article!
Hi John, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad you enjoyed learning about the IFTTT apps. You’re bound to discover handy ways to make your life easier.
Thank you for your visit and your excellent comment. All Wonder of Tech readers are truly brilliant. No exceptions. 🙂