IFTTT (If This Then That) is an excellent app that allows you to automate many tasks on your Android phone. I’ll show you some interesting uses of this app so you don’t have to perform certain tasks manually.
Mute Your Phone When You Reach the Office
You can get IFTTT to mute your phone automatically when you reach your workplace. This is done by setting your office location as the trigger and muting the phone as the action.
To do that, in IFTTT, tap “Create.” Choose “Add” next to If This. Select “Location,” tap “You Enter an Area,” and specify your office’s location. Your phone will go into mute mode when you’re in this area.
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Select “Android Device,” tap “Mute Ringone,” select if you want your phone to vibrate, and choose “Continue.”
Tap “Continue” followed by “Finish” to finish creating the task (called an applet). Note that you’ll have to manually disable silent mode when you’re outside of the office location.
Get the Weather Forecast in the Morning
To automatically receive the weather forecast at the specified time in the morning, make an applet as follows.
Select “Add” next to If This. Tap “Weather Underground,” choose “Today’s Weather Report,” select the time and the location, and choose “Continue.”
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Tap “Notifications,” choose “Send a Notification From the IFTTT App,” customize the weather report message, and tap “Continue.”
Tap “Continue” and “Finish.”
Find the Lost Phone With a Text Message
If you’re worried about misplacing or losing your phone, make it so that your phone rings at full volume when you send it a text message. The SMS acts as a trigger and causes your phone to ring.
You’ll have to ask your friend or someone to help you send a message to your phone.
To do that, select “Add” next to If This. Choose “Android SMS,” select “New SMS Received Matches Search,” type the keyword that your phone finds in a message to ring, and tap “Continue.” For the keyword, you can choose something like PleaseRing.
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Choose “Android Device,” select “Set Ringtone Volume,” tap the “Volume” drop-down menu, choose “100%,” and select “Continue.”
Tap “Continue” and “Finish.”
Automatically Mute Your Phone at Bedtime
You can make your phone enter silent mode when it’s bedtime. To do that, tap “Add” next to If This. Choose “Date & Time,” select “Every Day At,” specify your bedtime, and choose “Continue.”
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Select “Android Device,” choose “Mute Ringtone,” select if you’d like your phone to vibrate, and tap “Continue.”
Select “Continue” and “Finish.” When you wake up, manually bring your phone out of silent mode.
Add the Calls You Make on Your Phone to a Google Spreadsheet
You can log all the outgoing calls you make on your phone in a Google Sheets document. This basically acts as a backup of your call log.
To do that, tap “Add” next to If This. Choose “Android Phone Call” and select “Any Outgoing Phone Call Ends.”
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Choose “Google Sheets,” select “Add Row to Spreadsheet,” tap “Continue,” and authenticate your Google account. Make sure you allow IFTTT all the permissions it needs.
Select the row format and tap “Continue.”
Tap “Continue” followed by “Finish.”
Get a Reminder to Drink Water Every Hour
If you’re like me and forget to keep yourself hydrated, IFTTT can send you a reminder to drink water every hour (you can change the time interval if you want).
To do that, select “Add” next to If This. Choose “Date & Time,” select “Every Hour At,” specify the time, and choose “Continue.”
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Select “Notifications,” choose “Send a Notification From the IFTTT App,” select the “Message” field and type a custom message, and choose “Continue.”
Select “Continue” followed by “Finish.”
Automatically Text a Family Member When You Return Home
You can make your phone automatically text a loved one every time you return home. To do that, select “Add” next to If This. Choose “Location,” select “You Enter an Area,” specify your home address, and choose “Continue.”
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Select “Android SMS” and choose “Send an SMS.” Tap the “Phone Number” field and type the recipient’s phone number. Select the “Message” field and type the message you want to send. Then, tap “Continue.”
Select “Continue” followed by “Finish.”
Automatically Send a Birthday Wish to Your Friends
If you don’t want to forget to wish your friends on their birthdays, integrate Google Calendar containing your friends’ birthdays with IFTTT as follows.
Select “Add” next to If This. Tap “Google Calendar” and allow IFTTT to access your calendar. If you have a specific calendar that only contains birthdays, choose “Any Event Starts” and select the calendar from the “Which Calendar?” drop-down menu. Tap the “Time Before the Event Starts” drop-down menu and choose “0 Minutes.” Then, select “Continue.”
If the birthdays are added to a generic calendar where there are other events as well, select “Event From Search Starts” and choose the calendar from the “Which Calendar?” drop-down menu. Select the “Keyword or Phrase” field and type the keyword by which the app can find birthdays in the selected generic calendar. Tap the “Time Before Event Starts” drop-down menu and choose “0 Minutes.” Then, select “Continue.”
Tap “Add” next to Then That. Select how you’d like to send your birthday greeting. You can choose SMS, Gmail, or another preferred option. Then, type the message to send and choose “Continue.”
Make sure to select “Continue” followed by “Finish” to finish creating the applet.
And that’s how you let IFTTT handle some of your tasks so you can spend more time on other things that are important to you. Happy automating!
