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20 best IFTTT recipes to simplify your life

Automate the tech world around you with these awesome IFTTT (If This Then That) recipes.

IFTTT (pronounced ifft – like gift) is a web-based productivity tool that allow you to interconnect websites and your mobile devices in order to automate tasks. It works on the simple premise: If this (happens) then (do) that. But what makes IFTTT really useful is the thousands of ‘recipes’, or pre-made scripts, that let you automate your tech world while barely lifting a finger.

There are lots of them to chose from. How can you tell which ones are worthy of your time? Well, we’ve chosen 20 of the best. Check them out. 

Text To Escape

Ever wanted to get out of a meeting that’s dragging on and on? This recipe is up your street then. Just send a text to the IFTTT number for your region with the hashtag ‘#helpme’. It’ll then call you back with a pre-recorded message, giving you an opportunity to make your excuses and leave. 

Notify me when a paid app goes free

We all love a free app, especially when said app used to cost money. App developers periodically offer their apps for free in order to build up a buzz. This recipe will send a notification to your iOS device whenever a paid application goes for nada. Bargain! 

Log how much time you spend at home and work

Timesheets – they’re a drag to fill out. Check out this IFTTT recipe. It accurately records how much time you spend at a specific location, and then logs it to a Google Drive spreadsheet. And you even can leave your phone at work if you want to score brownie points with your boss! You suck-up!

Email me a GIF of Colin Farrell looking disappointed if I ever take a selfie

The #selfie epidemic has apparently ruffled some feathers, judging by this particular recipe. Whenever you take a photo with the front camera on your iPhone, it automatically e-mails you a GIF of Colin Farrell looking disappointed. But not as disappointed as we were with Miami Vice. 

Rain tomorrow? Get an iOS Notification

Use this recipe to check the weather forecast in your local area. If rain is predicted for tomorrow, it will send you a notification to your iPhone, giving you enough notice to dig out your umbrella or change your plans altogether. Going out is overrated anyway.

Battery Saver

Leaving Bluetooth and WiFi on when you don’t need them is a surefire way to drain your cell phone battery. This IFTTT aims to solve that problem by automatically turning them off when you leave your home, and back on when you come back. 

When I leave home, show my To Do List

This helpful IFTTT recipe waits for you to leave your house, and then brings up your to-do list. Since it uses iOS reminders, you can even tweak it to bring up your grocery list when you head to the supermarket. You’ve now got no excuse for forgetting the milk! 

Mute my phone when I get to the office & turn on vibrate

Few things are quite as embarrassing as your phone loudly going off in a meeting. This Android-only recipe checks for when you get to a pre-defined location, and then sets your phone to silent and vibrate. 

Sorry, I don’t do voicemail

Some people really hate voicemail. If that sounds like you, try this recipe on for size. Activate it on your Android device, and it’ll listen for missed calls. When you get one, it automatically sends a message letting the person who called you know that you missed their call, and that you never check your voicemail messages. 

Track my minutes! Placed calls are added to a spreadsheet

Phone calls that don’t form a part of your mobile phone service plan are really expensive. This recipe automatically saves the length and duration of your phone calls into a Google Drive spreadsheet, allowing you to keep on top of your phone usage. 

When #Facebook profile picture changes, update #Twitter profile picture

Keeping on your profiles updated across multiple social networks can be a chore. Thankfully, this recipe promises to simplify that process. Whenever you update your Facebook profile picture, it automatically updates your Twitter profile picture to match. 

Email you your Android photos

It sucks when a phone breaks, taking your pictures, messages and contacts with it. This recipe aims to make backing up your photos that bit easier, by automatically emailing them to you, along with a sharable link to them. 

Feeds to Pocket

Pocket is a useful tool for saving interesting articles, pictures and blogs for later consumption. This recipe takes that a step further, by automatically adding your Feedly feeds to your Pocket account. 

Upload your screenshots to Dropbox

This one’s a pretty useful recipe for you tech bloggers out there. Whenever a screenshot is taken on your Android device, it immediately adds it to your Dropbox account, allowing for easy access on your computer and other devices.

Let me know when I’m kicked off my home Wifi so I don’t use 3G data

We’ve all heard horror stories of people thinking they’re on their home wifi, when they’re actually eating through their data allowance at warp speed. This Android-only recipe sends an alert whenever you get disconnected from a specified network. 

Don’t forget to pay the bills each month

I bet you didn’t think IFTTT could help you with your budgeting. This recipe sends an SMS message whenever it’s time to pay your credit card, rent or utilities. Just tell it when. Now there’s no excuse to pay people back.

When you arrive in London, send yourself a map of the Underground

Planning a trip to London? You should check out this recipe then. Available for iOS and Android, it sends you an email with a map of the London underground the moment you arrive in the city. Easy as pie — until you try to negotiate the Northern line. 

RSS to Facebook Page

Sharing your blog posts with your Facebook friends has never been easier. This checks for new RSS feed items, and then immediately shares your post as a link on your Facebook timeline. 

Let your friends know when I’m back in town

Those of you who travel often will know how it can be hard to keep in touch with friends when on the road. This iOS-only recipe will post a Facebook status update when you’re back home, letting people know you’re available to hang out. 

Download publicly loved SoundCloud tracks to your Google Drive

Soundcloud is a great site for discovering new music, but it’s not that great when you’re out and about, or want to save them to your music library. This recipe automatically downloads the songs you’ve publicly ‘loved’ to your Google Drive, which can then be added to your Google Music library. Sweet! 

Matthew Hughes

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