The Google Calendar Spam Problem
Google Calendar has a well-known feature that automatically scans your Gmail inbox and adds event invitations directly to your schedule, even if you have not accepted them. While this is convenient for legitimate business meetings, it has also become a major avenue for spam. Malicious senders can send meeting requests containing dubious links, and without your interaction, these events will appear on your calendar, cluttering your daily view and potentially triggering unwanted notifications on your devices.
How to Block Unwanted Calendar Invitations
You can protect your calendar by changing a setting so that only invitations from people you know are added automatically, while others require manual approval.
1. Open Google Calendar in your web browser.
2. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Settings.
3. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Event settings.
4. Look for the dropdown menu labelled Add invitations to my calendar.
5. Change the setting from From everyone to Only if the sender is known.
Understanding the “Known Sender” Criteria
By selecting this option, Google Calendar will only automatically add events if the sender meets specific security criteria. A sender is considered “known” if they are in your Google Contacts list, if you share the same company domain (in Google Workspace environments), or if you have previously replied to an email from them.
If an unknown person sends you a meeting request, you will still receive the email in your Gmail inbox. However, the event will not appear on your calendar unless you explicitly click the “Yes” or “Maybe” buttons inside the email invitation, keeping your schedule clean and free from unwanted spam.