IFTTT app perfect for creating recipes on the go
A lot of the TUAW bloggers have a favorite website they love to visit for creating automated scripts (recipes) for linking dissimilar internet services. IFTTT stands for If This Then That, which is a perfect name for a service that watches for some action to occur before performing another action. While the website is perfectly usable from most iOS browsers, it's a bit difficult to use on the relatively small screen of an iPhone or iPod touch. Today, IFTTT is shipping a free iPhone app to make the creation of recipes while mobile a lot easier to accomplish.
The service requires a free membership, after which you can go to town writing your recipes. The IFTTT team did an excellent job of taking the easy-to-use interface of the website and packaging it in an iPhone app.
Launching IFTTT, you're asked to log into your existing account and also have the option of creating a new account. If you're an existing user of IFTTT, you have immediate access to all of your existing recipes. Want to create a new recipe? There's a "mortar and pestle" button to get into your list of recipes and add a new one -- you see the traditional If This Then That interface. Tapping "This" displays the list of channels you've activated, and then you choose the action to trigger your recipe. Tap "That" to select the recipient channel and choose an action.
The app takes advantage of links to several of the built-in iOS apps (Photos, Reminders and Contacts) to create recipes that are triggered by certain actions on the device. For example, if you have Philips Hue lights in your home, you can create a recipe that waits for you to take a photo with the iPhone's camera, and then changes your lighting to match the dominant colors of the photo. That's probably not the most practical use of IFTTT, but it's sure fun!
If you're currently an IFTTT user, definitely install the app. If you're unfamiliar with IFTTT, the app is a wonderful way to begin "putting the internet to work for you."
