If This Then That, also known as IFTTT, is a freeware web-based service that creates chains of simple conditional statements, called applets. An applet is triggered by changes that occur within other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Telegram, Instagram, or Pinterest. For example, an applet may send an e-mail message if the user tweets using a hashtag, or copy a photo on Facebook to a user's archive if someone tags a user in a photo. In addition to the web-based application, the service runs on iOS and Android. In February 2015, IFTTT renamed its original application to IF, and released a new suite of apps called Do, with which users can create shortcut applications and actions. As of 2015, IFTTT users created about 20 million recipes each day. All of the functionalities of the Do suite of apps have since been integrated into a redesigned IFTTT app.
History
On December 14, 2010, Linden Tibbets, the co-founder of IFTTT, posted a blog post titled “ifttt the beginning...” on the IFTTT website, announcing the new project. The first IFTTT applications were designed and developed by Tibbets and co-founder Jesse Tane. On September 7, 2011, Tibbets announced the launch on the official website. By April 30, 2012, users had created 1 million tasks. In June 2012, the service entered the Internet of Things space by integrating with Belkin Wemo devices, allowing applets to interact with the physical world. On July 10, 2013, IFTTT released an iPhone app and later released a version for iPad and iPod touch. On April 24, 2014, IFTTT released a version for Android. By the end of 2014, the IFTTT business was valued at approximately USD 170 million. 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. Do Notes does the same as Do Camera except with notes instead of images. As of November 2016, the four apps have been combined into one. By December 2016, the company announced a partnership with JotForm to integrate an applet to create actions in other applications. Part of the revenue of IFTTT comes from "IFTTT Platform" partners, who pay to have their products connected to the service, among them GE, BMW, Microsoft and Google. Others are Dropbox, The New York Times, Twitter, Slack and Spotify. Partners can choose from various monthly plans, such as Lite, which is free to use, Basic for $ 199, and Enterprise for $ 499. In April 2020 IFTTT announced a new $199 annual plan for developers to publish their service on IFTTT.
Features
Overview
IFTTT employs the following concepts:
Services are the basic building blocks of IFTTT. They mainly describe a series of data from a certain web service such as YouTube or eBay. Services can also describe actions controlled with certain APIs, like SMS. Sometimes, they can represent information in terms of weather or stocks. Each service has a particular set of triggers and actions.
Triggers are the "this" part of an applet. 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.
Actions are the "that" part of an applet. They are the output that results from the input of the trigger.
Applets are the predicates made from Triggers and Actions. For example, if you like a picture on Instagram, an IFTTT app can send the photo to your Dropbox account.
Ingredients are basic data available from a trigger—from the email trigger, for example; subject, body, attachment, received date, and sender’s address.
Usage examples
IFTTT can 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 RSS feeds.
IFTTT also is used in home automation, for instance switching on a light when detecting motion in a room.
Reception
IFTTT has been received positively by Forbes, Time, Wired, The New York Times, and Reader's Digest. Microsoft developed a similar product called Microsoft Flow.
