How to share Google Calendar - The Ultimate 2024 Guide

Google Calendar is the primary tool for scheduling, sharing time, and availability for millions of professionals, individuals, and startups. It’s pretty common for Google Calendar users to have a personal calendar, a work calendar (sometimes more than 1, depending on the industry they work), or a family calendar. Having multiple calendars makes it hard to share availability, view all meetings in one place, and avoid double bookings.

The good news is that we’ve got you covered. Let’s explore how to share a Google Calendar to an Outlook, Google, or iCloud Calendar, the issues of sharing Google Calendar, and how to bypass them, so you’ll never be double-booked.

What are Shared Google Calendars and how do they work?

If you have used Google Calendar before, you might have noticed that you can create or import multiple calendars in one Google Calendar account. In Google Calendar, a calendar can be Primary or Secondary. Let's explain the differences between a primary Google Calendar and a Secondary Google Calendar:

• Primary Google Calendar: This is your main Google Calendar Account, that you’re using to log in. You might recognize this calendar as the first calendar in your Google Calendar sidebar. By default, when someone schedules time with you using Google’s Find a Time feature, Google Calendar will create meetings in this calendar
• Secondary Google Calendar: All the other calendars are secondary calendars. Secondary Google Calendars can be calendars created by you or shared calendars. When coworkers use the Find a Time feature, they won't be able to see your schedule on secondary calendars, leading to meeting conflicts.

Shared Calendars are a subset of secondary calendars, which means that when other people use the Find a Time feature, they might double-book you.

Note that you shouldn't confuse a Google Account with a Calendar account. A Google account can contain multiple Google Calendars, such as A primary Calendar, and many secondary Calendars.

The downfalls of sharing Google Calendars

Sharing a Google Calendar might make you think that it will also share the meetings, and prevent you from getting double-booked, but in reality, it creates a secondary Google Calendar. The downfalls of sharing Google Calendars are:

1. No privacy, IT admins can see your calendars: When sharing your Google Calendar, Google warns you that this will make all events available to the public & Google Search. This surfaces sensitive information, such as personal events such as doctor appointments, job interviews, or work-sensitive information. Furthermore, your IT admins can see all your shared calendars, along with their events.
2. You can still have scheduling conflicts: For example, if you share your personal calendar, your teammates can’t see that you’re busy when using the Google Find a Time feature, as the Find a Time feature only checks busy slots on the primary calendar. Sharing a Calendar creates a secondary calendar.

How to share a Google Calendar with another Google Calendar

For this example, we'll explain how to share two Google Calendars: let’s call the first Google Calendar, A, and the second Google Calendar, B.

To share a Google Calendar with another Google Calendar, we should follow these steps:

1. Open Google Calendar
2. Hover the mouse cursor over the calendar you want to export (Calendar A).
3. Click the three-dot menu icon.
4. Click Settings and Sharing on the menu.
5. Locate the Access permissions for events option, and check it. Google Calendar warns you that: Making your calendar public will make all events visible to the world, including via Google search. Click Ok. On the same option, select See only Free/Busy time.
6. Scroll down and copy the Public Address in iCal Format.
7. Open Google Calendar B.
8. On the sidebar, near the bottom of the page, click Other Calendars +.
9. Click From URL in the drop-down menu.
10. Paste the link you copied earlier (step 5) and click Add Calendar.
11. Your new calendar will appear in the list under Other Calendars + once it’s shared. You can then rename it and change its color settings

Note: If you’re trying to share a work Google Calendar, you might not have permission to do so, as your IT administration might disable it. If that’s the case, please contact your IT department.

How to Share a Google Calendar with specific people? Which calendar-sharing privacy controls are safer to use?

It’s pretty common to share your Google Calendar with other people, such as your co-workers, family, etc. Here’s a detailed guide on how to share a Google Calendar with specific people:

1. Open Google Calendar
2. Hover the mouse cursor over the calendar you want to export (Calendar A).
3. Click the three-dot menu icon.
4. Click Settings and Sharing on the menu.
5. Go to the section that reads Share with specific people or groups.
6. Select Add people or groups.
7. Type the email address.
8. Define the permissions of each user you’ll share on the calendar. You can choose one of the following options:
   - See only free/busy
   - See all event details
   - Make changes to events
   - Make changes and manage sharing
9. Hit send.

The people you shared your Google Calendar can now see your availability.

Note: On step 8, when defining the permissions of each user you’ll share the calendar, we strongly recommend you select See only free/busy. The other options make it possible for other people to view all your meetings or give full access to them. Only select the other options if you’re really sure that you want them to have control over your calendar and sharing.
Read How to set permissions when sharing your Google Calendar below for more.

How to share a Google Calendar using a URL

One of the easiest ways to share a Google Calendar is by just importing other calendars using a URL. This method works with Outlook, Apple Calendar, or other calendars that have support for sharing URLs. To share a Google Calendar using a URL, you should follow these steps:

1. Copy the link you want to share with your Google account and head to your Google Calendar.
2. Locate the Other Calendars section in the left sidebar.
3. Click the plus mark (+) next to Other Calendars.
4. Select From URL.
5. Paste the URL and click Add Calendar.

In a few moments, you should be able to see the imported calendar right into your Google Calendar. Note that new events (updates) might take a while to propagate depending on the provider. For example, if you're sharing a Google Calendar using an Outlook URL, changes usually take up to 24 hours to propagate.

How to share a Google Calendar with an Outlook Calendar

To share a Google Calendar with an Outlook Calendar, follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click Outlook. 
3. Select Settings. 
   
   
4. Click Calendar (next to the calendar icon), then click Shared Calendars.
   
   
5. In the “Publish Calendar” section, find the link to the calendar you’d like to share with Google Calendar. 
   
   
6. Click Calendar, then click Can view all details. 
   
   
7. Click Publish.
   
   
8. Copy the ICS link (towards the bottom, below the HTML link).
   
   
9. Open Google Calendar. After copying the ICS link, the next step is to open the Google Calendar you want to sync with the Outlook Calendar.
10. On the sidebar, near the bottom of the page, click Other Calendars +.
    
    
11. Click From URL in the drop-down menu.
    
    
12. Paste the link you copied earlier and click Add Calendar. 
    
    
13. Your new calendar will appear in the list under Other Calendars + once it’s shared. You can then rename it and change its color settings.

The Outlook Calendar will be visible in your calendars list on the left sidebar of your Google Calendar.

As in the previous example, sharing could be disabled by your IT department. If you’re unable to share your Outlook Calendar, contact your IT administrators.

How to share a Google Calendar with an Apple Calendar

If you’re an Apple Calendar user, you can easily share it with your Google Calendar by making a public URL:

If you’re using an Apple Calendar connected to iCloud, you can share it with your Google Calendar by making a public URL.

1. Open Apple Calendar
2. In the left sidebar, hover over the Apple Calendar you want to share and click the share option.
3. Tick the checkbox next to Public Calendar to generate a calendar URL.
4. Copy the Public Calendar URL
5. Open Google Calendar
6. On the sidebar, near the bottom of the page, click Other Calendars +.
7. Click From URL in the drop-down menu.
8. Paste the link you copied from Apple Calendar (step 4) and click Add Calendar.
9. Your new calendar will appear in the list under Other Calendars + once it’s shared. You can then rename it and change its color settings

Your Apple Calendar will now be visible in your Google Calendar calendars list.

Note: This makes your Apple Calendar public. Please be cautious not to share the URL with anyone, as they’ll be able to see your meeting details.

Same as sharing Google Calendar with Outlook, upon the initial sharing, event updates might take a couple of hours to propagate.

How to set permissions when sharing your Google Calendar? Which permissions are recommended? (important read to protect your privacy)

Now that we’ve explained how to share your Google Calendar, let’s explain and discuss some privacy concerns, and how other people see your events.

The sharing settings and permissions apply to everyone you’ve shared the calendar with, yourself, or other people (team members, etc.).

By default, Google Calendar only shares the calendar events with you, meaning nobody else can see when you’re busy.

The only option to share your availability is to share all details, but this makes it so everyone else can see your private event details.

Here is how to set your Google Calendar sharing permissions:

1. Click the three dots beside the calendar you’re sharing.
2. Select Settings and Sharing.
3. Scroll down to the Access permissions for events section
4. You should be able to see a drop-down, with these permissions:
   - See only free/busy (hide details): This makes it so other people can see when there is an event on your Google Calendar, but can’t see the private event details
   - See All event details: This is not recommended, as it allows other people to view full event details, such as description, attendees, location, meeting links, etc.
   - Make changes to events: Not recommended, as it allows other people to edit all details of your events, including participants, conference URL, event time, etc.
   - Make changes and manage sharing: Not recommended, as it allows other people to view, and edit all your events, and share your Google Calendar with other people. Please use this option with caution.
5. If you want to manage permissions for specific individuals, scroll down to the Share with Specific people section.
6. You’ll see each person you’ve shared your calendar with (as we referenced on How to Share a Google Calendar with specific people). You can adjust the sharing permissions for each person.

Our recommendation is to always give as less permissions as possible. For most cases, just sharing free/busy details does the job, as the co-workers will be able to see your busy slots, and not the details of those slots.

As a rule of thumb, you should always be cautious about the Google Calendar you're sharing, evaluate the privacy implications with the meetings and events in it, and then evaluate which permissions will you apply when sharing.

Can your IT administrator see your shared Google Calendar?

If you share your Google Calendars, IT administrators can see them, so share your Google Calendars with caution. This means that IT administrators can see all your shared calendars, along with any private details. There is no way to disable this functionality, as it comes with Google Workspace, so please share with caution, as the last thing you need is for your IT department to see your Job interview, doctor’s appointment, or other sensitive meetings you might have.

Does sharing a Google Calendar block the time? Will I get double-booked?

No, sharing a Google Calendar won’t block your time. If one of your co-workers uses the Find a Time feature, they’ll only see your primary calendar, not the other calendars you’ve shared. This leads to meeting conflicts and privacy concerns. The reason for this is that Google Calendar only checks the primary Google Calendar for available time slots, and given that a shared Google Calendar is a secondary calendar, Google Calendar won't check its slots for availability.

If you want to avoid these downsides, consider using a Calendar Automation Tool that keeps your privacy intact, actually blocks time, and avoids meeting conflicts.

Share your Google Calendar using OneCal

Now that we’ve explained every traditional way of sharing a Google Calendar, let’s explain the best way to share your Google Calendar through OneCal.

Using OneCal, you can automatically block events on your primary Google Calendar, from any synced calendars.

Why should I use OneCal to share my Google Calendars?

OneCal bypasses all the downfalls of traditional sharing:

• No privacy issues: The first benefit is that it solves the privacy issues by allowing you to select what property of your events you want to sync. If you don’t want to sync anything, you can mark all your events as ‘Busy’, and only sync the placeholder title. This means that your IT admins won’t be able to see your private events or the calendars you’ve shared.
• Real-time updates: The second benefit is that the event updates happen in real-time. When you create a meeting on the shared calendars, it will be reflected on Google Calendar in real-time.
• One-minute setup: No need to follow 30 steps to share a calendar, you can sync as many calendars as you wish, in less than one minute.
• Blocks time, and avoids meeting conflicts: OneCal sends events to your primary Google Calendar, which means that if co-workers use the Find a Time feature, they’ll be able to see your busy slots across all shared calendars.

You can sign up for a 14-day free trial, with no credit calendar required, to try sync your calendars using OneCal. Avoid meeting conflicts, and privacy concerns, save time, and focus on what matters.