The simplest way to share your calendar
To invite someone to see your Google Calendar, you open the calendar settings, find the "Add people" option, type their email address, and choose what permission level they get. Google then sends them a notification, and once they accept, they can view your calendar on their own device. The whole process takes about two minutes.
The key decision is what you let them do: you can let them only see when you're busy, see your full event details, or even edit and add events themselves. Most people share read-only access (they see everything but cannot change anything) with friends and family, and edit access with close collaborators like a spouse or work partner.
Key Takeaways
- Open your calendar settings by clicking the gear icon, then find "Settings" and select the calendar you want to share.
- Under "Share with specific people," type the email address of the person you want to invite and choose their permission level.
- Google sends them a notification automatically — they do not have to do anything on their end to start seeing your calendar.
- You can change or remove someone's access at any time by going back to the same settings page and clicking the trash icon next to their name.
- If you want to share your calendar with everyone at your workplace or school, use the "Make available to" section instead of adding people one at a time.
Finding the settings for your calendar
Start by opening Google Calendar in your web browser (calendar.google.com). On the left side of the screen, you will see a list of your calendars under "My calendars." Find the calendar you want to share — usually this is "Calendar" if you only have one — and hover your mouse over it until three dots appear to the right of the name.
Click those three dots and select "Settings and sharing" from the menu. This opens a page with all the options for that calendar. You are now in the right place to invite people.
Adding a person and choosing their permission level
On the settings page, scroll down until you see a section called "Share with specific people." Click the "Add people" button. A box will appear where you type the email address of the person you want to invite.
Next to the email address box, you will see a dropdown menu that says "See all details" or "See only free/busy." This is where you decide what they can do. Here are the three main options:
- See only free/busy: They can see when you are busy, but not what the event is or any details about it. Use this for people outside your organization or when you want privacy about what you are doing.
- See all details: They can see the full name of every event, the time, location, and description. They cannot change anything. Use this for family members, close friends, or colleagues who need to know your schedule.
- Make changes and manage sharing: They can edit events, add new events to your calendar, and invite other people to share it. Use this only for people you trust completely, like a spouse or business partner.
Choose the permission level you want, then click "Send." Google Calendar sends them a notification right away. They do not have to do anything special — the calendar will appear in their own Google Calendar account automatically once they accept the invitation.
What happens on their end
When you send an invitation, the person receives a notification in their Google Calendar. They will see a message saying you have shared a calendar with them, along with the name of the calendar. They can click "Accept" to add it to their list of calendars, or ignore it if they do not want to see it.
Once they accept, your calendar shows up in their left sidebar under "Other calendars." They can then view your events alongside their own, and the color of your events will be different so they can tell them apart. If you gave them edit access, they can click on any of your events and make changes.
Changing or removing someone's access
If you change your mind about sharing with someone, or if you want to give them different permissions, go back to the same settings page. Under "Share with specific people," you will see a list of everyone you have shared the calendar with, along with their current permission level.
To change someone's access, click on their permission level (the dropdown that says "See all details" or "See only free/busy") and select a different option. To remove them completely, click the trash icon to the right of their name. They will no longer be able to see your calendar.
Sharing with a group or organization
If you want to share your calendar with everyone in your workplace, school, or organization instead of inviting people one at a time, scroll up to the section called "Make available to." Click the dropdown and select either "Anyone at [your organization]" or "Public on the web," depending on who you want to see it.
Be careful with this option — "Public on the web" means anyone on the internet can find and view your calendar if they search for it. Most people use "Anyone at [your organization]" instead, which limits it to people with an email address from your company or school domain.
Troubleshooting common problems
If someone says they did not receive an invitation, check that you typed their email address correctly. Google Calendar does not send a second notification if you add the same person twice, so if they already have access, adding them again will not send a new message. You can also ask them to check their "Other calendars" section — sometimes the calendar appears there without a notification.
If someone cannot see your events even though you shared the calendar, make sure you gave them the right permission level. "See only free/busy" hides all the details, so they will only see blocks of time marked as busy. If they need to see event names and details, change their permission to "See all details."
If you are using Google Calendar on your phone or tablet instead of a web browser, the steps are slightly different. Open the app, tap the menu (three horizontal lines), find your calendar in the list, tap the three dots next to it, and select "Settings." The rest of the process is the same.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I invite someone who does not have a Google account?
No — the person must have a Google account (Gmail or a Google Workspace account through their employer) to view a shared calendar. If they do not have one, they can create a free Gmail account. Once they do, you can send them an invitation using their email address.
What if I want to share my calendar but keep certain events private?
Mark those events as "Private" when you create them. Open the event, click "Edit," scroll down to find the "Visibility" option, and change it from "Public" to "Private." People you have shared the calendar with will see a block of time marked as busy, but they will not see the event name or details.
Can someone see my calendar if I do not invite them?
Not unless you have turned on "Public on the web" in your sharing settings. By default, your calendar is private and only you can see it. You have to actively invite someone or make it public for others to view it.
If I remove someone's access, can they still see events they already saw?
No — once you remove them, the calendar disappears from their account when ready. They will not be able to see any of your events, including ones they viewed before.
Can I set different permission levels for different people?
Yes — each person you invite can have their own permission level. One person might have "See all details" while another has "See only free/busy," and a third might have edit access. You control each person's access independently in the sharing settings.