10 delightfully useful IFTTT recipes

1. Find your lost smartphone

If you're constantly misplacing your Android smartphone than have no fear, because IFTTT is here to save the day, thanks to this nifty little recipe.

If calling your mobile from another phone isn't getting you anywhere, this IFTTT recipe allows you to turn your lost smartphone's volume up to the max. This means that you're no longer stuck if your smartphone was on silent when you lost it.

Choose a keyword or simple phrase such as '#volumeup', text that to your smartphone and you're in business. Install this recipe sooner rather than later and it may save you in the future.

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2. Save new photos to your Google Drive account

This IFTTT shortcut is ideal for folk that take lots of pictures that they'd like stored in the cloud, automatically uploading new images to Google Drive so your pictures aren't just saved locally.

You'll be pleased to hear that the IFTTT app will make a new folder to store your pictures in on its own, and it's possible to toggle a notification to activate every time the recipe runs.

The Google Drive recipe notes the date of the pictures uploaded, which is handy if you like your images organized.

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3. Remind yourself to return a call

It's frustratingly easy to forget to call someone back after missing a call on your smartphone, which is where this IFTTT recipe comes into play.

This automated task functions with your Google Calendar account, meaning every time you miss a call, IFTTT will set a future reminder in the form of a Google Calendar note. It's a simple way of making sure you get back in touch.

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4. Prepare for tomorrow's rain

Uh-oh, it's going to rain tomorrow! Thankfully you're well prepared, because you've activated this IFTTT task that alerts you a day before the wet stuff falls from the sky.

This trigger monitors changes in the forecast and keeps you posted on whether or not an umbrella will be a good idea. It's possible to adjust the recipe to alert you to snowy conditions or clouds too, activated in the Advanced Settings menu.

If the app predicts rain, an alert is sent right to your Android Wear device. There's also a version of the same recipe built for smartphones rather than wearables.

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5. Mute your phone at bedtime

Sometimes it's easy to accidentally drift off in the evening only to be woken up by a loud notification on your smartphone. This recipe automatically sets your Android gadget to silent mode at an adjustable time of the day, so you can snooze in peace.

Add the recipe to your IFTTT profile, choose a bedtime and activate the task. Simple.

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6. Upload tagged Facebook photos to Google Drive

Manually saving all of the Facebook photos you're tagged in can be a nuisance, but this recipe aims to speed up the process by quickly adding tagged pictures to your Google Drive account.

We recommend you choose to receive notifications when this recipe runs because you'll be guaranteed to know right away when you're tagged in a picture.

By default, the recipe logs the date the picture was uploaded and the name of the person who uploaded it.

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7. Turn your Philips Hue lights on when you arrive home

If you're the proud owner of a Philips Hue lighting system, you can connect the Hue channel to the IFTTT app to open up a world of possibilities.

This recipe we've chosen to spotlight logs your home location and automatically turns your Hue lights on when you arrive home. There's an alternative recipe that turns the lights off when you leave the house, too.

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8. Get notified with your favorite team's final score

If you're a die-hard sports fan, you'll know the pain of having to be away from the TV while your beloved sports team is playing a game. It's a tough situation, that's for sure.

This IFTTT recipe uses the ESPN mobile app to alert you to the final scores, and covers a host of sports including basketball, football and soccer.

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9. Set your Android wallpaper as Reddit's most-loved

Reddit's /r/wallpapers community does a top job of sharing out the best and most varied selection of wallpapers for Android smartphones and tablets.

By activating this recipe, IFTTT will automatically set your wallpaper to /r/wallpaper's 'hot' pick, which keeps your homescreen looking fresh and unique around the clock.

Of course, there's a chance that you won't fall in love with the automatically-selected wallpaper, but part of the fun is turning your phone on and seeing how things have changed.

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10. Receive new IFTTT recipes to your inbox

If you can't get enough of IFTTT and are constantly looking around for some new and improved tasks for the app, this recipe ensures the latest shortcuts are emailed right to your inbox.

Enter in your email address and you'll have the IFTTT community's most-used recipes ready to browse through.

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Are there any handy IFTTT recipes we've missed out that you can't live without? Are you an IFTTT addict, or is Tasker your automated app of choice? Share with us some of your favorite IFTTT functions in the comments section below.