Tasker is an amazingly powerful automation app for Android. It lets you automate settings, actions, and other aspects of your phone without needing to root it.

A lot of people avoid the Tasker app because it has a reputation for being too complicated. But as you'll see below, setting up useful automation methods for your Android device doesn't have to be complicated at all.

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1. Silent Mode When Face Down

When you're in a dark place, like movie theater, fumbling around to silence your phone is annoying. A simple solution is to set up Tasker to silence your phone whenever you set it face down.

Here's how to set this up in Tasker. First, you need to set up a profile for when your phone is in the face-down orientation:

  1. Open Tasker, go to the Profiles tab, and click the Plus symbol to add a new profile.
  2. Select State, tap on Sensor, and then choose Orientation.
  3. Under Orientation, tap Face Down. Then click on the < icon at the upper-left of the screen to go back to the Profiles tab.

Next, you need to set up the task that will happen when your phone is placed face down.

  1. Under New Task, tap on the Plus symbol and give the task a name.
  2. In Task Edit mode, click the Plus symbol to enter the Audio action category.
  3. Choose Vibrate as the Audio Action, and Vibrate for the Mode.
  4. Tap the < symbol to return to the Profile tab.

Check that your new Face Down profile is turned on. Now your phone will go into silent (vibrate only) mode whenever you place it face down on any surface.

2. Launch Apps in Order

In the morning, you might enjoy sitting down with your coffee and browsing social apps. At lunchtime, you may like to read through your favorite news apps. Why not have all those apps open automatically at a certain time of day?

Setting up this Tasker automation is easy. First, create a profile based on time:

  1. Start Tasker, go to the Profiles tab, and click the Plus symbol to add a new profile.
  2. Select Time, and set the time you want the apps to open.

Tip: You can use the Repeat checkbox to regularly open an app at a set interval of time. This is a great way to remember to log exercise or calorie consumption in your health apps.

Next, set up the task:

  1. Under New Task, tap on the Plus symbol and give the task a name.
  2. In Task Edit mode, click the Plus symbol, select App, and then tap Launch App.
  3. Select the first app you want to launch at the set time.
  4. Repeat step 3 to add additional apps you'd like to open automatically.

Then, at the time you've set, Tasker will launch the apps you configured.

3. Create "Reading Mode" (Screen Always On)

The Kindle is an excellent device for reading, but you can read on your phone too with the best Android ebook readers. When doing so, a common problem is that your screen can time out while you're reading.

Tasker can handle this by automatically adjusting your display settings when you're using a specific app (like Amazon Kindle) to read books.

Here's how to set that up with Tasker. First, create the profile for your "reading mode:"

  1. Start Tasker, go to the Profiles tab, and click the Plus symbol to add a new profile.
  2. Select Application.
  3. Select the apps you use to read ebooks. This could be Amazon Kindle, PDF apps, or similar.

Next, set up the display settings:

  1. Under New Task, tap on the Plus symbol and give the task a name.
  2. In Task Edit mode, select the Plus symbol, select Display, and then choose Display Timeout.
  3. Set the display timeout to your preferred value in seconds, minutes, and hours.

If you set your display timeout to a huge value, it's a good idea to add an additional task in this profile (just add an Exit task to the profile above). Make the Exit task set the display settings back to your default timeout.

This way, when you exit the reading app, you can be sure your display timeout will work as normal again.

4. Reduce Screen Brightness at Night

A lot of apps will reduce your screen brightness automatically at a certain time of day. But why install additional apps when Tasker can do the job for you?

Here's how you set up screen brightness automation in Tasker. First, create the profile for your "night mode:"

  1. Start Tasker, go to the Profiles tab, and hit the Plus symbol to add a new profile.
  2. Select Time.
  3. Set a timeframe when you'd like to automatically reduce screen brightness.

Next, set up the task to reduce screen brightness late at night:

  1. Under New Task, tap on the Plus symbol and name the task.
  2. In Task Edit mode, select the Plus symbol, choose Display, and then tap Display Brightness.
  3. Set the brightness level (0 is the lowest setting).

Now Tasker will automatically reduce your screen brightness during the time period you've set.

Tip: You can add a similar profile during a time of day when you're outside and need a higher brightness level. Just repeat the above steps, but set the timeframe during the time you'll be outside, and the screen brightness to a higher setting.

5. Turn On Wi-Fi at Wi-Fi Hotspots

If you frequent popular free Wi-Fi hotspots like coffee shops or your local library, you can save time (and data usage on your cellular plan) by automatically enabling Wi-Fi when you visit those locations.

In this case, you'll set up Tasker to turn on Wi-Fi at a specific location:

  1. Start Tasker, go to the Profiles tab, and hit the Plus symbol to add a new profile.
  2. Select Location.
  3. Scroll through the map and zoom into the location (like your local library).
  4. Long-press on the map to set the location marker.

Next, set up the task to enable Wi-Fi while you're there:

  1. Return to Profiles and give the location a name.
  2. Select New Task and name the task.
  3. In Task Edit mode, hit the Plus symbol, select Net, and then tap Wi-Fi.
  4. Change Set to On.
  5. Return to the Profiles window, long-press on the task, and select Add Exit Task. Then tap on New Task. Name the task.
  6. Press the Plus symbol, select Net, tap Wi-Fi, and ensure Set is Off.

Now, when you return to your Profiles tab, you'll see the location set with a task to turn on Wi-Fi when you arrive, and turn off Wi-Fi when you leave.

6. Send Text Messages on Low Battery

If you've ever found yourself with a dead phone and no way to communicate, you'll love this automation. You can configure Tasker to automatically a text message when your battery is critically low.

To set up this Tasker automation, create another Profile and give it a name like Low Battery Messages. Then:

  1. Choose State.
  2. Select Power, and tap Battery Level.
  3. Set the battery level at which you want to auto-send text messages.
  4. Add a new task and name it.
  5. Tap Plus, then select Phone, and choose Compose SMS.
  6. Type the recipients that you want to send the text to, and enter the "low battery" message you'd like to send.

Return to your Profiles page, and you're done.

7. Secure Specific Apps

If you leave your phone sitting around without a passcode, it's pretty simple for someone to pick it up and invade your privacy. They could open Facebook, WhatsApp, or other apps you're logged into, and view your private conversations.

Add some extra security to your phone by having Tasker lock down specific apps:

  1. Create a new Profile, and select Application.
  2. Choose all the apps you want to lock down.
  3. Return to the Profiles tab, and add a new task and name it.
  4. Select Display, then tap Lock.
  5. Type in the code you want to use to lock those apps.

Now, any time those specific apps are opened, you'll need to type your password to launch them.

8. Read Messages While Driving

It's all too common to see drivers checking their messages while driving. But this is extremely dangerous. Increase your safety by having Tasker check and read messages to you out loud while driving.

To set up this automation, first you need to have Tasker read SMS messages when the phone is docked:

  1. Create a new profile, and select State.
  2. Choose Hardware, select Docked, and under Type, choose Car.
  3. Return to the Profiles tab, and tap Plus to add a new task and name it.
  4. Choose Tasker, tap Profile Status, and under Name, select Read SMS.
  5. Change Set to On.

Now you'll want to make sure this is turned off when you undock your phone:

  1. Long press the Read SMS On task you just created, and choose Exit Task.
  2. Add a new task by tapping Plus and choose Tasker, then Profile Status.
  3. Under Name, choose Read SMS and change Set to Off.

Finally, you need to create another profile that'll trigger when any new text message arrives. This profile will customize the phrasing that reads your text:

  1. In the Profiles tab, create another profile.
  2. Select Event, then tap Phone, Received Text. Under Type, tap Any.
  3. Back on the Profiles tab, add a new task by tapping Plus.
  4. Under the Filter tab, type Say and then tap Say.
  5. Type "%SMSRF sent the following SMS: %SMSRB" in the text box that appears.

Back in the Profiles tab, you can name this last profile and you're done.

This is a slightly more advanced automation. But as you can see, even advanced automations only require a couple of Profiles and Tasks to do some very powerful actions.

Automating Your Phone With Tasker

As you can see, Tasker isn't as complicated as many people think. Just by creating a few Profiles and Tasks, you can transform your phone into a truly remarkable device.

If you still don't like the idea of using Tasker, there are plenty of automated Android settings you can configure.