Despite over 1.5 billion iPhone users, most know very little about the Shortcuts app. You might be surprised to learn this humble tool is one of the best ways to enhance your productivity and creativity on iOS.

Shortcuts is like having a personal assistant right in your pocket. Whether you want to send a message, play a specific playlist, or add text to an image, Shortcuts can do it all with just a few taps. The app is user-friendly and doesn’t require any coding skills, making it accessible to everyone.

One of the most popular functions is using the app to overlay text on images with ease. However, it's not always clear how to do this.

This article will guide you through the process of using iOS Shortcuts to overlay text on an image, offering a step-by-step approach that's easy to follow. We'll also go over how IFTTT can integrate with iOS Shortcuts and take the app to a whole new level with advanced automations, AI tools, and more.

A crash course on iOS Shortcuts

If you’ve never explored the Shortcuts app before, think of it as Apple’s in-house automation system. It’s designed to help you perform multiple actions across different apps with a single tap or voice command.

Each shortcut is made up of actions, small building blocks that tell your iPhone what to do. For instance, you could:

• - Open a specific app
• - Set a timer
• - Send a message to someone
• - Edit or watermark an image
• - Generate a daily journal entry
• - Trigger smart home scenes

You can build your own shortcuts from scratch or use Apple’s Shortcut Gallery, which includes hundreds of pre-made workflows. You can also import shortcuts shared by others, which is a great way to explore the creative ways others automate their iPhones.

Shortcuts can run directly from Siri or even from the share button. They can also be triggered automatically using “Personal Automations,” such as when you arrive at a location, open an app, or connect to Wi-Fi.

If this sounds a lot like IFTTT, you'd be right. Our free automation platform uses a similar logic, with triggers and actions that you can set up code-free. Shortcuts is a great option for some, but IFTTT takes automation a step further.

With IFTTT, you can connect iOS apps to over 1000 other popular services, and customize automations with things like filter code, date and time functions, AI tools, and more. Our platform also offers solutions for those on Android or desktop-only users.

Why use iPhone Shortcuts for overlaying text on images?

Overlaying text on images can be useful for multiple reasons. Whether you're creating a meme, adding captions to photos, or designing a poster graphic, using Shortcuts makes the process quick. Instead of relying on third-party apps, you can use the native capabilities of your iPhone, ensuring better performance and security.

How to use Shortcuts to overlay text on an image

Before you can overlay text on an image, you need to set up a shortcut that will automate the task. Here’s how you can do it in only a few minutes:

Begin by opening the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. If you haven’t used it before, you might want to take a quick tour to familiarize yourself with its features.

1.) Tap the "+" icon in the top right corner to create a new shortcut.

2.) You will be prompted to add actions to your shortcut. Actions are the building blocks of your shortcuts, allowing you to perform different tasks.

3.) Search for “Select Photos” and add this action. This step lets you choose which photo you want to overlay text on.

4.) You can set it to allow multiple selections if you plan to add text to more than one image at a time.

5.) Now, search for “Overlay Text” and add this action to your shortcut.

6.) Configure the text you want to overlay. You can either set a fixed text or create a prompt for text entry each time you run the shortcut.

7.) Customize your text’s font, size, color, and alignment.

8.) Decide on the position of the text on your image.

Once you’ve configured your actions, tap “Next” and give your shortcut a name. Choose a name that makes sense, like “Text Overlay,” so you can easily find it later. Tap “Done” to save your shortcut.

How to activate the Shortcut

With your shortcut set up, using it is a breeze. Simply open the Shortcuts app, tap on your “Text Overlay” shortcut, and follow the prompts.

Select your image, enter the text if prompted, and watch as your iPhone overlays the text on the image. The edited image is saved to your Photos app, ready for you to share or use as you wish. You can also activate the Shortcut through Siri or the share menu on certain apps.

Using IFTTT and Shortcuts for ultimate control

IFTTT connects with iOS Shortcuts to bring you even more automation possibilities, such as loading up different apps simultaneously, toggling smart home lights, arming security systems, and sending phone calls for important texts. Whereas Shortcuts can integrate with a handful of iOS-only apps, IFTTT helps expand this list to all of your favorite services.

The basic idea behind IFTTT is to create "Applets" or sets of instructions that trigger when certain conditions are met. This can be turning on the lights automatically when you enter your house, for example. If you need some inspiration, you can browse our library of millions of user-made Applets and enable any that you like.

Founded in 2011, IFTTT has been used by over 25 million individuals around the globe to automate both business and home tasks, saving time and increasing efficiency. We're always expanding our list of integrated apps and have released new features like AI tools. Best of all, IFTTT is free to use and only takes a couple of minutes to set up.

IOS Shortcuts Applets with IFTTT

Smart home synchronization

Instead of having to enter the smart home app every time you want to make a change, let IFTTT do the heavy lifting instead. With this connection, you can execute a variety of actions just by tapping a widget or setting it to occur at different times or types of weather.

There are also options to use Shortcuts to arm security systems, which can be helpful if you tend to often forget.

VIP text alerts

Stop missing texts from the most important people in your life. If you are one of those people who tend to not notice the little buzz of a text message, these Applets are for you.

By integrating with Shortcuts, you can receive a call when you get a text from a VIP, or even configure the Applet to blink your smart home lights or play a tone.

Sync Focus apps

To achieve ultimate focus in your workflow, use these productivity Applets to sync your focus apps on desktop and mobile. Whether it be sending focus data to different devices or tracking how often you open Twitter, IFTTT is the best way to keep you accountable and laser-focused on achieving your goals.

If you are looking for an easy-to-use but powerful automation tool, IFTTT should be your first choice. Trusted by millions due to our user-friendly and approachable automation model, we urge you to try IFTTT for free today. So why wait? See how you change the way you work, play, and live with the beauty of automation.