How to Manage Google Calendar Visibility - 2025 Guide

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Securely Share Your Google Availability

Use the OneCal Scheduling Links to share your availability without exposing private details.

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Google Calendar lets you control who can see your calendar and what they can view, like your availability or full event details.

It’s completely free, and with a few quick steps, you can keep personal events private while sharing the right info with coworkers, family, or anyone else.

In this guide, we’ll show you step-by-step instructions on how to manage your calendar’s visibility.

How to Manage Google Calendar Visibility: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Go to Calendar Settings

To manage your calendar’s visibility, open Google Calendar on your desktop by visiting https://calendar.google.com.

google calendar settings

On the left side, under Settings for my calendars, find the calendar you want to adjust. Hover over its name, then click your calendar.

google calendar permissions

From the dropdown, select Calendar settings. This will open the settings panel where you can control your calendar’s visibility and sharing options.

Step 2: Adjust Visibility for the Entire Calendar

Once you're in the calendar settings, scroll down to the Access permissions for events section.

To keep your calendar private, make sure the Make available to public box is unchecked. This keeps your calendar hidden from everyone except those you specifically share it with.

make google calendar private

If you want to share your calendar with everyone (like your company or school), check the box labeled Make available to public.

free and busy google calendar permissions

Choose the level of detail others can see:

  • See only free/busy (hide details): Others can only see when you are busy or free, without event details.

  • See all event details: Others can view the full event information, like titles and descriptions.

Remember, if your calendar is public, everyone can see all event details regardless of individual event settings.

You can share your Google Calendar with individual people, Google Groups, or make it publicly accessible via a shareable link. To share with specific individuals or groups:

1. Click Add people and groups.

google calendar add people

2. Enter the email address of the person or group you want to share with.

3. Select the permission level you want to give them:

select permission google calendar

  • See only free/busy (hide details): Shows availability without any event info

  • See all event details: Shows titles, times, and descriptions

  • Make changes to events: Allows editing events, including private ones

  • Make changes and manage sharing: Full admin access to your calendar

You can also generate a public shareable link under Access permissions for events, but be aware that anyone with the link can access your calendar. You can’t limit access by person, nor customize how your calendar looks.

Want more control and branding?

In this case, using a third-party appointment software like OneCal, you can share your calendar using a private link that lets people book time with you, while you control exactly what they see. 

Plus, you can customize the page with your own logo and colors and sync availability across Google, Outlook, or iCloud (all from one place).

Try OneCal free for 14 days, no credit card needed.

Step 4: Make Calendar Visible Within Your Organization (Google Workspace Only)

If your calendar is part of a Google Workspace account (like a company or school), you can control visibility within your organization.

1. In the Access permissions for events section, check the box labeled Make available for [Your Organization]

2. Choose the permission level:

  • See only free/busy (hide details)

  • See all event details

Keep in mind that your organization’s admin may have set default sharing rules that affect what you can change.

Note: If you’re using more than one calendar (like managing personal and work calendars), Google Calendar alone won’t sync everything. With OneCal, you can automatically sync all your calendars across platforms, so you manage visibility in one place and avoid conflicts.

Want to learn more about syncing? Check out our full guide on how to sync Google Calendars.

Step 5: Change Visibility for Individual Events

Sometimes you may want to hide or share only specific events on your calendar. Here’s how you can manage an event’s visibility in Google Calendar:

1. Open Google Calendar on your desktop.

2. Click the event you want to change, then click the Edit (pencil) icon.

edit event google calendar

3. Find the Default visibility dropdown menu.

edit visibility event google calendar

4. Choose one of these options:

  • Default visibility: Uses your calendar’s overall visibility settings.

  • Public: Anyone with access can see the event details.

  • Private: Hides event details; others only see you’re busy at that time.

5. Click Save to apply your changes.

Note that even private events may show some basic info, like the event time or organizer, depending on others’ permissions.

A Smarter Way to Share and Book: Try OneCal

Google Calendar lets you share your calendar for free, but it's limited when it comes to features and customization.

For example, the Appointment Scheduler (which lets others book time with you) is only available on Google Workspace paid plans starting at $7/month, and even then, branding options are minimal.

OneCal gives you more, at a similar price (starting at $6/month):

  • Sync multiple calendars (Google, Outlook, iCloud) in real time

  • Let others book meetings with you using fully customizable booking pages

  • Add your own logo, colors, and descriptions to match your brand

  • Control your availability from a clean, unified dashboard

Example of a OneCal Scheduling Link:

links-custom-branding.webp

Try OneCal free for 14 days, no credit card required, cancel any time.