How to Share a Google Calendar with Another Person

If you are trying to coordinate schedules with a partner, family member, or colleague, constantly texting back and forth about who is free on which day becomes exhausting quickly. The most efficient way to manage a shared schedule is to give that person direct access to your Google Calendar.

By sharing a calendar, you can control exactly what the other person sees—whether you want them to see every intricate detail of your meetings, or simply a block of color indicating you are “Busy.”

Here is exactly how to share your Google Calendar, and how to manage the permission levels correctly.

Important Note About Mobile Phones

While Google recently introduced limited sharing features in the Android app, the best and most reliable way to share a calendar is on a desktop computer. If you only have an iPhone or an iPad, the native Google Calendar iOS app does not support sharing configurations at all. You must open Safari, go to calendar.google.com, and request the “Desktop Website” version to follow these steps.

How to Share Your Calendar

1. Open calendar.google.com on your desktop web browser and sign in.
2. Look at the left-hand sidebar. Under the miniature calendar, you will see a section titled My calendars.
3. Hover your mouse cursor over the specific calendar you want to share (usually your name).
4. Click the three vertical dots (More options) that appear next to the calendar name.
5. Click on Settings and sharing.
6. Scroll down the page until you find the section titled Share with specific people or groups.
7. Click the Add people and groups button.
8. Type the email address of the person you want to share with. (Note: They must have a Google account to accept the invitation).
9. Click the Permissions drop-down menu to select their access level (see the breakdown below).
10. Click Send.

The person will receive an email containing a link. Once they click that link, your calendar will instantly populate on their device.

Understanding the Permission Levels

When you share your calendar in Step 9, you must choose how much power to give the other person. Getting this right is critical for your privacy.

• See only free/busy (hide details): This is the most restrictive option. The person will see blocks of time on your calendar marked “Busy,” but they will not see the names of your events, where you are going, or who you are meeting. (Perfect for coworkers).
• See all event details: The person can read everything on your calendar (event names, locations, and descriptions), but they cannot alter anything. They cannot add events or delete your appointments. (Perfect for friends).
• Make changes to events: The person can read everything, and they can also add new events to your calendar or delete existing ones. (Perfect for spouses or direct assistants).
• Make changes and manage sharing: This grants full administrative control. The person can edit your events, and they can also invite other people to view your calendar without your permission. (Use with extreme caution).

How to Stop Sharing a Calendar

If you want to revoke someone’s access, the process is instant.

1. Go back to calendar.google.com.
2. Click the three dots next to your calendar and select Settings and sharing.
3. Scroll down to the Share with specific people or groups section.
4. Find the person’s name on the list, and click the X icon on the far right side of their name.

Your calendar will immediately disappear from their account.