← All pranks
It Knows Your Name
Menace

It Knows Your Name

A whisper says their name. Only on the fifth open, so they can't pin it down.

Download shortcut⏱ 1m setup

Open in Safari on your iPhone. Download the file, open it from Safari Downloads or Files, then follow the prompts to add it in Shortcuts.

What happens

On the fifth Instagram open of the day, after a few seconds of normal scrolling, a slow, low voice says “Sam… I can see you.” It doesn’t happen on the first open or the second, or ever again that day, so they can never reproduce it on purpose.

Setup

  1. Open this page in Safari on the iPhone, download the file (or AirDrop it), open it from Safari Downloads or Files, and tap Add Shortcut.
  2. While importing, it asks for their first name, spelled the way it should be said out loud. Fill it in before tapping Add Shortcut.
  3. Long-press it in Shortcuts → All Shortcuts → Rename and call it Insta Helper, so it doesn’t give itself away.
  4. Run it five times while unlocked to reach the whisper, choosing Always Allow where offered. The first four runs only update the counter. Manual tests count toward the day’s five opens. To rearm after testing, remove only it-knows-your-name-date.txt and it-knows-your-name-count.txt from Files → iCloud Drive → Shortcuts → shortcut-to-hell.
  5. Shortcuts → Automation → + → App, pick Instagram, Is Opened, select Run Immediately, tap Next and choose the shortcut.

Undo

Open Shortcuts → Automation, swipe left on the automation and tap Delete. Then delete the shortcut. Restore media volume and audio output in Control Center.

Variations

  • Point it at whichever app they open most: TikTok, Messages, Mail.

State and testing

The saved state lives in Files → iCloud Drive → Shortcuts → shortcut-to-hell: it-knows-your-name-date.txt, it-knows-your-name-count.txt. Keep iCloud Drive available. Manual runs affect the same counters as automation runs. Deleting this shortcut does not delete its saved state.

Test the trigger

Installing the file does not create its automation. After the manual test, trigger the event once and check the result. If the shortcut picker is unavailable, create a blank automation, add Run Shortcut, and select this shortcut. Menus, previews and app-opening actions may still need interaction or an unlocked phone even with Run Immediately selected. If it stops, run from the shortcut’s … editor to identify the failing action.

More like this