In today’s fast-paced digital world, automation has become a key factor in improving productivity and efficiency. One tool that has gained significant popularity in this realm is IFTTT.
Short for “If This, Then That,” IFTTT is a web-based service that allows you to create automated tasks, called applets, to connect different apps, devices, and services.
If you like to create your routines and you are missing some options, IFTTT is just what you are looking for. IFTTT service is not new, but it has been substantially improved to work hand in hand with virtual assistants and further improve the experience of using these devices. Read also: 4 Best Smart Locks that Work with Ring Doorbell And Ring Alarm
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What is IFTTT And How Does It Work?
What is IFTTT?
IFTTT is a powerful platform that enables users to automate tasks across various apps, services, and devices. It acts as a bridge between different digital tools, allowing them to interact with each other seamlessly.
With IFTTT, you can connect popular apps and services, such as Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Philips Hue, and countless others, creating customized automated workflows.
How does IFTTT work?
At its core, IFTTT functions based on the principle of conditional statements. Each automation created on IFTTT consists of two main components: triggers and actions.
Triggers are events or conditions that initiate an action, while actions are the tasks performed in response to a trigger. When a trigger occurs, IFTTT executes the associated action, enabling the seamless flow of information between different apps and services.
How to integrate IFTTT into your smart home
At its core, IFTTT works like an Alexa or Google Assistant routine builder. What is the point of using it, then? The grace of IFTTT is that it works as a bridge for applications and services that do not have a native integration with Alexa, Google Assistant, or HomeKit. In addition, it also serves to execute tasks that do not exist within the ecosystem of virtual assistants.
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IFTTT can unlock routines that currently don’t exist in our voice assistants. If you are interested and want to learn how to use it, follow these steps :
Register an account:
To get started with IFTTT in your smart home, you first need to go to ifttt.com and register an account. Once that is done, you can activate the 7-day Pro account without fear since you will not be asked for a payment method.
Activate the integration with your virtual assistant:
Once we have the account, we can look at the platform or jump directly to activate the integrations with our device.
- IFTTT + Alexa: we will go to ifttt.com/amazon_alexa and click the ‘Connect’ button. Then, the Amazon OAuth window will appear. We will put our username and password for the Amazon account that our Amazon Echo uses. Ready. You will now be able to use IFTTT formulae on your Amazon device.
- IFTTT + Google Assistant – Similarly, we’ll go to ifttt.com/google_assistant, click ‘Connect,’ and associate our Google account for Google Home or Nest devices.
- IFTTT + Apple HomeKit – There is no native integration between IFTTT and Apple’s voice assistant yet. However, you can connect the App Store, Health, iOS Reminders, Calendar, and other Apple apps as integrations within IFTTT.
Download IFTTT on your mobile:
You can manage everything from the browser, but the easiest thing is installing IFTTT on your iOS or Android phone and managing the applets.
Search for the IFTTT app in the Play Store or the Apple App Store, install the program, and log in with your username and password.
Once you do, IFTTT will notify you that the program will run in the background. Accept the permissions, and you’re done.
Add more Applets and services.
The best thing you can do at this point is to research the recipes that users have uploaded to IFTTT and see if they can work for you. You can discover all this through the ‘ Explore ‘ tab.
If you use the Amazon assistant at home, you can search for ‘ Alexa ‘ within the search engine. In the first line, the different services compatible with Amazon Alexa that IFTTT supports, such as Philips Hue, Ring, Nexx, or Virtual Switches, will occur in the form of a square.
Just below, you can access a nearly endless list of applets created by users. Each card will show you what the action does, the creator, the number of users that have that recipe enabled, and the services needed to run that Applet. In addition, there are official recipes created by the developers of these services.
Once you have found an Applet, you want to use, click on the Applet and click ‘ Activate. ‘ If that program requires additional permissions, you’ll be prompted to add new accounts to IFTTT or accept the permissions on your phone, such as if a recipe requires getting your phone’s location.
Applet Configuration
Most Applets are automatic, but others may require our action to configure them. For example, if we use a recipe that performs an action when we get home, the Applet will ask us for the location of our home to check the location and carry out its task.
Create Your Own Applets
If you can not find the most suitable IFTTT formula for you, you can create it. To do this, go to the IFTTT app on your smartphone and click on ‘ Create ‘, at the bottom of the main menu.
You can create Applets in two steps. At the top (If This), you’ll need to set the trigger for the action. For example, ‘Android battery is below 15%’. Then, you will have to place the action to be executed at the bottom.
The possibilities are limitless. You can send an email with the warning. Still, you can have Alexa notify you or even perform an action on a home automation device that you control through Alexa, such as a light bulb or Nanoleaf panels, which can even adjust color to notify you that you should put to assess the mobile.
When creating, you will have certain problems with the Free account, even with the 7-day trial. Pro users can count more than one element to the activity argument (If This), which we would not be able to do if we do not pay for the full service.
However, we recommend that you try recipes contributed by the community and pay or not, depending on what IFTTT can bring you in your day-to-day and daily tasks.
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IFTTT Is A Smart Home
Automate the Lighting of Lights to Another Level
Until now, you could turn the lights on or off in certain house rooms with parameters such as time or sunset. But… What if I told you that you could turn them on automatically when you get home without touching a single switch?
Or, let’s take a more complex case. Suppose you turn on the lights in your living room right at dusk, and this week they turn on at about 8:12 p.m. What happens on a stormy day? Well, that’s where IFTTT comes in, which can step in to light up your rooms with a much smarter parameter.
You will also be able to turn on and off the lights and some smart devices in your home through virtual buttons on the mobile phone, which is still a pending issue in many virtual assistants.
In this case, you could design the routine yourself, but we assure you that thousands and thousands of recipes are already created, and you only have to activate them to start using them. Programming them is not complicated —it’s like a puzzle—but you don’t need to make a single recipe.
Extra Security Features
Use motion detectors to record security cameras when they detect movement or when we leave home. Or, for example, receive a notification when you are not at home, and your children return from school. You can make the recipes as complicated as you like, regardless of the native limitations of Google Assistant or Alexa.
Thermostats and Air Conditioning:
You can turn your home heating on and off using a thermostat. But, with IFTTT, you can save it. It simply activates an Applet that activates or deactivates the air conditioning when certain weather conditions are met. Weather data can be obtained from the internet and not necessarily from a device located in your home.
Other Functions:
From here, the limits are set by your imagination. If you have a garden, you can make automatic irrigation thanks to IFTTT without investing too much money in an automatic irrigation system.
You can also use this service to create complex routines, use Google Assistant and Alexa simultaneously, or even turn off certain electronic devices when the price of electricity skyrockets.
How Do Businesses Use IFTTT?
Businesses are using IFTTT in a very interesting way and they are connecting their systems to automate their processes. If you are interested to know how businesses are using IFTTT, then let me tell you the following article.
- Amazon is a company that offers various services to its customers and one of the services is Amazon Echo. The Amazon Echo is a smart speaker that can make your life easier by answering your queries with just your voice. It is an amazing device that works without a screen and the Alexa assistant that comes with it can do a lot of things for you.
- There are millions of users who are using the Amazon Echo and the Alexa assistant for simple tasks. They can turn on the lights, set the thermostat, start a timer, make a shopping list, etc. The Alexa assistant helps them to control their homes and make their lives easier.
- With the help of the Alexa assistant, you can control your home appliances through your smartphone. You can ask your Amazon Echo to turn on the TV, play music, open the garage door, and turn off the lights. You can also talk to the Alexa assistant and ask it to call your friend, check your email, or send a message.
- The Alexa assistant is also helpful for business purposes. For example, you can control your lights, alarm, and heating system using your smartphone. Moreover, you can also manage your home automation with the Alexa assistant.
- The Alexa assistant is not only used by people but also the businesses. Many businesses are using the Alexa assistant for their work.
Conclusion
In this article, we discuss how to use IFTTT for business purposes. We also showed you how to set up your own IFTTT channel and create custom recipes that will automate certain tasks for you.
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