It Turns Out You Can Post to Twitter With Siri

There are a lot of things Siri can’t do — understand anything anyone says if it is only slightly noisy in the background, for one. However, Siri not being able to post to Twitter, even if you speak very slowly and loudly and in a room void of noise, isn’t something that defines Siri anymore. It’s a workaround more than Siri actually being able to just post to Twitter itself, but the workaround is a quick setup and configuration, so those that really can’t be bothered to open up their Twitter app and type out a tweet now have a quick and easy way to tell the world what their sandwich is like in 140 characters or less.

Instructions below.

The workaround is clever. You may not be aware of it, but you can post to Twitter via standard text message. Siri can send standard text messages. See where this is going?

Step 1: Make a new contact on your phone with the first name “Twitter.” Set the phone number to 404-04, Twitter’s SMS shortcode.

Step 2: Send a text message to your new Twitter contact that only says the word “start.” It will trigger a reply with instructions on how to log into Twitter via text. Once logged in, you can send tweets anytime via text message using that contact.

Step 3: Now, just like you’d send any regular text message with Siri, you can send them to Twitter with Siri as well, which, voila, is a tweet. Simply “Tell Twitter [enter your message here],” and Siri will compose your command as a text message and send it off to Twitter. Easy peasy.

Clean up: Now that you set up Twitter on your phone through SMS, Twitter will be set up by default to send you texts about Twitter things, such as retweets and whatever else Twitter likes to make people aware of. To fix that, head over to Twitter’s mobile settings and uncheck some boxes.

Now go put Siri to work! Just make sure you speak very slowly and are in a room that no noise can ever enter.

(via Macworld)

Relevant to your interests

• Siri’s abortion blindspot was fixed perhaps a little too well
• Siri had a chat with 1966 chatbot ELIZA
• A 2001: A Space Odyssey phone dock makes Siri much creepier

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author

Close

James Plafke