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GUIDE / IPHONE AUTOMATION

How to automate iPhone apps, from Shortcuts to real iPhones

You can automate an iPhone at three levels: Apple Shortcuts for the actions apps expose, on-device auto clickers for simple tap loops, and a real iPhone driven remotely for work in any app. That last kind of iPhone automation runs on a schedule, by API or through an AI agent, while your own phone stays in your pocket.

6 min read

Real footage on a 0bull iPhone, October 14, 2026. Trimmed, with the end sped up.
  1. Level 1Apple ShortcutsActions apps offer
  2. Level 2On-device auto clickerTaps on your own screen
  3. Level 3Real iPhone, driven remotelyAny app, by schedule, API or agent

Three ways to automate an iPhone

Each level reaches further than the one before. See what each one can drive, where it runs and who controls it.

Level 1

Apple Shortcuts

Apple’s own automation app. It chains actions that apps offer into one shortcut.

How it flows

  1. A trigger
  2. App action
  3. App action

Best when

Personal routines in apps that offer actions.

What it can drive
The actions apps offer to Shortcuts, plus built-in steps for your device and the web.
Where it runs
On your own iPhone. Automations stay on the device they were made on.
How it starts
A tap, Siri, or an event such as a time of day, arriving somewhere or opening an app.
Who controls it
You, on your phone.
Review step
Some automations ask before they run. Others can run without asking.

Intro to Shortcuts on iPhone and iPad, checked 2026-10-14Intro to shortcuts with automations on iPhone or iPad, checked 2026-10-14Add automations to Shortcuts on iPhone or iPad, checked 2026-10-14

Level 2

On-device auto clicker

An app that repeats taps and swipes at points on the screen, or replays taps you recorded.

How it flows

  1. You press start
  2. Tap
  3. Tap
  4. Tap

Best when

A simple tap loop in one app, on one phone.

What it can drive
Taps and swipes on whatever app is open.
Where it runs
On your own iPhone, which is busy while the loop runs.
How it starts
You start it on the phone.
Who controls it
Whoever holds the phone. There is no API and no remote access.
Review step
You watch the screen.

This describes the category, not a particular app.

Level 3

Real iPhone, driven remotely

A physical iPhone reserved to you that you drive from a browser, your code or an AI agent.

How it flows

  1. Schedule, API or agent
  2. 0bull
  3. Real iPhone
  4. Any app

Best when

Work across apps, on a schedule, for a team or a program.

What it can drive
Any app on the phone: live control, recorded macros, and an agent that works the screen. Plus a posting API for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Where it runs
On a physical iPhone reserved to you, with its own residential IP. Your own phone stays free.
How it starts
A schedule, a webhook, on demand, or a call from your code or AI agent.
Who controls it
You, and each teammate you give Control of that phone.
Review step
Save a post as a draft on the phone. A person checks it in the app before it goes live.

What Apple Shortcuts can do, and where it stops

For personal routines, Shortcuts is the right tool. It works through the actions apps offer, on the phone in your hand.

What it does well

Where it stops

See iPhone automation run on a real phone

This is a real recording, not a mockup. The 0bull phone agent got one task in plain words and carried it out on a 0bull iPhone.

  1. You describe the task in plain words.

    No script and no coordinates. This is the exact task the phone agent was given:

    “Open the Notes app and create a new note. Type the title Friday checklist. Then type one line: Post the Reel at 18:00. Tap Done, then stop.”

  2. The agent works the screen like a person would.

    It opens Notes, starts a note, types the title and the line, and taps Done. You can watch it live in the browser.

  3. You get the result back.

    The run is queued. Your code polls it until it reads succeeded, failed or cancelled.

REST API: start an agent run, then poll itcurl
curl https://0bull.net/api/v1/phones/PHONE_SLOT/agent-runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "task": "Open the Notes app and create a new note. ..." }'

# 202 Accepted: a run record. Then poll it:
curl https://0bull.net/api/v1/phones/PHONE_SLOT/runs/RUN_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
Real footage on a 0bull iPhone, October 14, 2026. Trimmed, with the end sped up.

The same phone gives you all of this. Each one is a physical iPhone reserved to you, with its own residential IP, for $100 a month. See what the price includes

  • Live control in the browser
  • Macros
  • Phone agent
  • Automations
  • Scheduled posts
  • One clip to many accounts
  • REST API
  • MCP server
  • Drafts for review
  • Control per teammate

Worked example: one Reel, five accounts, 18:00

One API call schedules five posts. Here it is for your code, for an AI agent, and what comes back.

  1. Send one call

    One request lists five Instagram accounts, the video and scheduled_at. You get one submission per account, each with the status scheduled.

  2. The jobs wait for their phones

    Each account is signed in on a real iPhone reserved to you. Nothing runs before 18:00, and you can cancel until a job starts.

  3. At 18:00, the phones post

    Each phone opens Instagram and publishes the Reel, the way a person would.

  4. A webhook arrives for each post

    When a post finishes, 0bull sends one POST to your webhook_url with the event submission.completed and the final status.

Optional branch

Want a person to check first? Add "draft": true. Each Reel is saved as a draft on its phone, and a VA or a client posts it from Instagram.

REST API: one clip to five accountscurl
curl https://0bull.net/api/v1/submissions/batches \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "destinations": [
      { "platform": "instagram", "account_id": "ACCOUNT_ID_1" },
      { "platform": "instagram", "account_id": "ACCOUNT_ID_2" },
      { "platform": "instagram", "account_id": "ACCOUNT_ID_3" },
      { "platform": "instagram", "account_id": "ACCOUNT_ID_4" },
      { "platform": "instagram", "account_id": "ACCOUNT_ID_5" }
    ],
    "video_url": "https://example.com/reel.mp4",
    "caption": "New drop, live now.",
    "scheduled_at": "2026-10-18T18:00:00+02:00",
    "webhook_url": "https://example.com/hooks/0bull"
  }'

Tokens, ids and URLs are placeholders. Field names are the real ones.

Posting is one job. Macros and the phone agent work the screen of any app on the same phone, from the same API and MCP server. Read about the REST API and MCP server

Which one fits you?

Shortcuts is the right answer for many people. Three questions tell you which level you need.

What do you want to automate?
Who needs to run it?
Should your code or an AI agent start it?

Our suggestion

Answer the three questions to see which level fits. Nothing is sent anywhere.

In plain words

Six words this guide uses, each in one sentence.

Macro
A recording of exact taps and typing, replayed the same way each time.
Agent
An AI that reads the screen and picks the next tap to finish a task you wrote in plain words.
Automation
A saved task that runs by itself: on a schedule, when a webhook calls it, or when you press run.
Webhook
A web address your system gives us. We send a message to it when something finishes.
API
A way for your code to ask a service to do things, instead of clicking buttons.
MCP
Model Context Protocol: a standard way for an AI agent to use tools. Here, the tools are your phones.

iPhone automation questions

Yes. Apple Shortcuts runs actions from your apps on a trigger such as a time of day. Auto clicker apps repeat taps on the screen. A real iPhone driven remotely can work any app on a schedule, by API or through an AI agent.

Shortcuts runs the actions an app offers to it, so it depends on which actions TikTok or Instagram provide. You can check in the shortcut editor under Apps. For steps an app does not offer, you need something that works the screen, such as a remote iPhone with macros or an agent.

iPhone automation usually means Shortcuts: steps an app exposes, run in order when a trigger fires. An auto clicker repeats taps at points on the screen, whatever app is open. One works through actions, the other through the screen.

Yes. Through the 0bull MCP server, an AI agent can take a screenshot of a phone, read the text on it, tap, swipe and type, run a macro, hand a task to the phone agent, and publish posts. Work on the phone is queued, and the agent checks back for the result.

No. You can rent a physical iPhone from 0bull for $100 a month. It is reserved to you, keeps its own residential IP for the whole rental, and you open it from your browser.

Navigate the action list in Shortcuts on iPhone or iPad, checked 2026-10-14App Intents, checked 2026-10-14

Keep reading

Next steps

New to running many phones? What is a phone farm?

Sources and dates

  1. Intro to Shortcuts on iPhone and iPadFetched 2026-10-14The Shortcuts app combines steps across apps into task automations. Each action is a single step, and actions come from the apps on your device.
  2. Intro to shortcuts with automations on iPhone or iPadFetched 2026-10-14Automations run actions on events such as a time of day, arriving at a location or opening an app. Automation shortcuts are specific to a device.
  3. Add automations to Shortcuts on iPhone or iPadFetched 2026-10-14How to add a trigger to a shortcut, and which personal automations can run without asking for confirmation.
  4. Navigate the action list in Shortcuts on iPhone or iPadFetched 2026-10-14Many actions use other apps on your device, and the editor can list every action available for a given app.
  5. App IntentsFetched 2026-10-14Developers use the App Intents framework to make their app’s actions available outside the app, including in Shortcuts.

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