IFTTT
Description
IFTTT is short for “If This Then That” — the logical structure of every automation the platform creates. A user defines a trigger (the “this”) and an action (the “then that”), and IFTTT watches for the trigger and automatically executes the action when it occurs. A trigger could be a new post on a WordPress blog, a weather forecast indicating rain tomorrow, a new item added to a Google Spreadsheet or an arrival at a GPS location. The resulting action could be sending a tweet, adding something to Todoist, turning on a Philips Hue light, or sending a text message. IFTTT joins these dots across over 700 apps and services without the user having to write any code.
Linden Tibbets and Jesse Tane founded IFTTT in 2010 in San Francisco, and made it publicly available in 2011. The platform became one of the most popular consumer automation services, linking a wide variety of smart home devices, productivity applications, social networks, email services, and web tools under one consistent automation interface.
The basic unit in IFTTT is the Applet — a saved automation that specifies one or more triggers, conditions and actions. Pre-built Applets from IFTTT and partner services can be found in the Applet directory, representing common patterns of automation: save Instagram photos to Google Drive, log work hours to a Google Sheet, get a notification when the International Space Station passes overhead, or flash smart lights when a sports team scores. Users turn on published Applets with a single toggle or build custom Applets from scratch.
IFTTT integrates with more than 700 services as of 2025, and they are categorized into the following: smart home (Philips Hue, LIFX, Nest, Ring, Ecobee, SmartThings), productivity (Google Calendar, Google Sheets, Trello, Notion, Todoist, Asana), social and communication (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook Pages, Discord, Telegram, SMS), location (iOS/Android location triggers), weather (Weather Underground, AccuWeather), email (Gmail, Office 365), RSS feeds, webhooks for custom integrations and dozens of Each service makes available the triggers and actions that it supports via IFTTT’s standardized interface.
IFTTT Pro and Pro+ support Applets with multiple actions for a single event. A single “New email from boss” trigger can add a task to Trello, send a Slack notification and record the email subject to a spreadsheet all at the same time. Multi-step Applets eliminate the need to create different single-action Applets for each response to the same trigger.
Pro tiers add conditional filters — JavaScript based logic that runs between the trigger and the action. A query determines if certain conditions are true before allowing the action to continue, allowing for more specific automation: only adding a calendar event if the subject of the email contains a certain keyword, or only turning on lights if the current time is after sunset. Queries are executed as code snippets in the Applet editor, available to users with some basic scripting knowledge.
The Webhooks service enables IFTTT to receive triggers from any web service that can send an HTTP request, and to send requests (as actions) to any endpoint via an HTTP request. Webhooks are an extension of IFTTT’s capabilities that allows it to go beyond the official list of partners, allowing integrations with custom web applications, home automation systems, and services that expose their own APIs.
IFTTT offers home screen widgets for Android and iOS that trigger Applet actions with the tap of a finger — turning off all smart lights, logging a quick note, sending a preset message. Voice integration links IFTTT to Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri Shortcuts so that voice commands can be used to trigger IFTTT Applets.
The free tier has a limit on the number of active Applets per account and on multi-step and conditional features. IFTTT Pro gives you more active Applet limit and opens up multi-step Applets and queries. Pro+ offers unlimited Applets, faster automation execution (less latency between trigger and action), and priority customer support.
