IFTTT

IFTTT

Original author(s)	Linden Tibbets[1]
Developer(s)	IFTTT Inc.
Initial release	7 September 2011 (2011-09-07)
Stable release	Android: 1.3 (February 19, 2015 (2015-02-19))[2] iOS: 2.4.0 (February 19, 2015 (2015-02-19))[3]
Operating system	Android 4.0 or later[2] iOS 7.0 or later (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch)[3]
Available in	English
Type	Conditional statement creator, task automater, internet of things
License	Freeware
Alexa rank	2,067 (April 2015)
Website	ifttt.com

IFTTT is a web-based service that allows users to create chains of simple conditional statements, called "recipes", which are triggered based on changes to other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and Craigslist.^[4] IFTTT is an abbreviation of "If This Then That" (pronounced like "gift" without the "g").^[5]

An example "recipe" might consist of sending an e-mail message if the IFTTT user tweets using a certain hashtag. Or, if the user is tagged by someone on Facebook, then that photo will be added to the user's cloud-based photo archive.^[6]

IFTTT was created by Linden Tibbets, Jesse Tane, and Alexander Tibbets in San Francisco, California. IFTTT was launched in September 7, 2011.^[7] Today, IFTTT recipes are widely used and shared by its users.^[8]

In addition to its web-based application, IFTTT for iPhone was launched on July 10, 2013 and contained three channels: iOS Photos, Reminders and Contacts.^[9] An iPad version with iOS notification support was later introduced on April 3, 2014.^[10] Later that month, on April 24, 2014, IFTTT released an Android version of the app.^[11]

On February 19, 2015, IFTTT renamed their original application to IF and released a new suite of apps called Do. The Do apps allow users to create customizable shortcut applications and actions.^[12] Linden Tibbets also announced that IFTTT users are now "cooking" about 20 million "recipes" each day.^[13]

History

On December 14, 2010, Linden Tibbets, the creator of IFTTT, posted a blog post titled “ifttt the beginning…” on the IFTTT website, announcing that the new project was called “IFTTT”. The first applications performed by IFTTT were designed and developed by Tibbets and Jesse Tane, co-founder of IFTTT.

On September 7, 2011, Tibbets announced on the official website that IFTTT was open for all. He then wrote on his blog to describe how IFTTT was developed. "Over these last nine months our beta testers responded ferociously, creating over 100 thousand tasks that have collectively triggered more than 25 million times." ^[14]

By April 30, 2012, one million tasks had been created.^[15]

On July 10, 2013 IFTTT for iPhone was released. "You can create and use Recipes around the things: snapping screenshots, adding new contacts, completing reminders, and organizing photo albums." wrote the IFTTT team on their official blog.^[16]

In June 2012, the service entered the Internet of Things space by integrating with Belkin WeMo devices,^[17] allowing Recipes to interact with the physical world.

On April 3, 2014, IFTTT for iPad and iPod touch was released. In addition, developers also introduced a new channel called iOS Notifications Channel.^[18]

On April 24, 2014, A version for Android was released. This release featured six new Android Channels, including the Device and SMS Channels, according to the IFTTT official blog.^[19]

As an Internet of Things business, by the end of 2014, IFTTT was valued at approximately $170m, making it one of the most valuable IoT companies around the world.^[20]

On February 19, 2015, IFTTT launched three new applications. Do Button triggers an action when you press it. Do Camera automatically uploads the image to the service of your choice (Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, etc.). Do Notes do the same as Do Camera, except with notes instead of images.

Features

Overview

IFTTT employs the following concepts.

• Channels are the "basic building blocks of IFTTT",^[21] they mainly describes a series of data from a certain web service such as YouTube or eBay. It can also describe some certain actions controlled with certain APIs like SMS. Sometimes, it can represent information in terms of weather or stocks.^[22] There are particular triggers and actions in each channel.^[23]
• Triggers are the "this" part of a recipe. They are the items that "trigger" the action. For example, from an RSS feed, you can receive a notification based on a keyword or phrase.^[6]

• Actions are the "that" part of a recipe. They are the output that results from the input of the trigger.

• Recipes are the "equations" made from Triggers and Actions. For example, if you like any picture in Instagram (trigger), the photo will be sent to your Dropbox account (action).^[21]

• Ingredients are basic data made available from a trigger. For example, that data that are available from the email trigger include subject, body, attachment, received date, and the sender’s address.^[21]

Usage examples

• IFTTT can automatically automate web-application tasks, such as posting the same content on several social networks.
• Marketing professionals can use IFTTT to track mentions of companies in real-time in RSS feeds.^[24]

List of channels

Android

Blogging

Business

Commerce

Connected Car

Connected Home

Fitness and Wearables

iOS

Lifestyle

Music

News and Sports

Photo and Video

Productivity

Social Networking

Future

IFTTT channels coming soon:

Reception

IFTTT has received positive reception from Forbes,^[29] Time,^[30] Wired,^[31] The New York Times,^[32] and Reader's Digest.^[33]

References

External links

• Official website
• Official blog
• IFTTT Product Page