The fastest way to share your calendar
To add someone to your Google Calendar, you share the calendar itself rather than inviting them to individual events. Open Google Calendar on your computer, find the calendar you want to share in the left sidebar, click the three dots next to its name, and select "Settings and sharing". Scroll down to "Share with specific people" and enter their email address. Choose whether they can see only busy/free time, see all event details, or edit the calendar. Click "Send" and they will receive an email with access.
The person you share with does not need to accept anything — the calendar appears in their Google Calendar sidebar automatically once they open their account. They can start viewing your events right away, depending on the permission level you chose.
Key Takeaways
- Sharing a calendar is different from inviting someone to a single event — shared calendars appear in their sidebar permanently.
- You can let someone see only whether you are busy, see all your event details, or edit and add events to your calendar.
- The person receives an email notification but does not need to respond — the calendar shows up in their account automatically.
- You can stop sharing at any time by removing their email from the sharing settings, and the calendar disappears from their view.
The three permission levels explained
See only free/busy shows the person only whether you are available at any given time — they see blocks of time marked as busy, but no event titles or details. This is useful if you want someone to know when you are occupied without revealing what you are doing. A manager might use this to see when you are in meetings without knowing the meeting content.
See all event details lets them view the full calendar — event names, times, locations, descriptions, and any guests you have invited. They cannot make changes. This is the most common choice for sharing with family, teammates, or anyone who needs to know your schedule.
Make changes to events gives them full editing power. They can add events, delete events, and modify existing ones. Only share this level with people you trust completely, like a spouse managing household schedules or an assistant managing your work calendar.
How to share with a group instead of one person
If you want to share your calendar with multiple people at once, you can enter a Google Group email address instead of individual addresses. This works if your workplace or organization has set up a group — for example, "engineering-team@company.com". Everyone in that group automatically gets access without you having to add them one by one.
To learn about a group exists, ask your IT department or manager. If you are setting up a group yourself, you would do that through Google Admin, which is beyond the scope of a personal calendar share.
Sharing a calendar on your phone
Open the Google Calendar app on Android or iPhone, tap the calendar name in the sidebar to see options, then tap "Settings". Scroll to "Share with specific people" and enter the email address. The process is identical to the computer version, though the buttons and menus look slightly different depending on your phone.
If you do not see a "Share with specific people" option, make sure you are looking at a calendar you own. Shared calendars that belong to someone else cannot be re-shared — only the original owner can change who has access.
What happens when you stop sharing
When you remove someone's email from the sharing settings, the calendar disappears from their sidebar the next time they refresh Google Calendar. They lose access immediately — any events they created on your calendar remain, but they can no longer see or edit anything.
If the person had made changes to your calendar before you removed them, those changes stay in place. Removing access does not undo their edits. If you need to delete events they added, you will have to do that yourself.
Sharing a calendar you do not own
If someone shared a calendar with you and gave you editing permission, you cannot re-share it with a third person. Only the original owner can add new people. You can still use the calendar and make changes to it, but sharing is locked to the owner's decision.
If you need someone else to have access to a calendar you do not own, ask the owner to add them directly through their own sharing settings.
Troubleshooting: The person says they cannot see the calendar
First, confirm you sent the invitation to the correct email address — if they use a different email for their Google account than the one you entered, they will not see it. Ask them which email they use to log into Google Calendar and try again.
Second, have them check their email for the sharing notification and make sure they are logged into Google Calendar with the same account. Sometimes people have multiple Google accounts and are signed into the wrong one. If they still do not see it after logging out and back in, try removing their email from sharing and adding it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I share just one event instead of the whole calendar?
No — sharing works at the calendar level only. However, you can invite specific people to individual events by opening the event, clicking "Add guests", and entering their email. They will receive an invitation and can accept or decline. This is different from calendar sharing.
What if someone shares a calendar with me but I do not want to see it?
Open Google Calendar, find the shared calendar in your sidebar, click the three dots next to it, and select "Unsubscribe". The calendar disappears from your view, but the person who shared it will not be notified. You can re-subscribe anytime by asking them to share it again.
Can I share my calendar with someone who does not have a Google account?
No — the person must have a Google account and a Gmail address to receive shared calendar access. If they do not have one, they can create a free Google account at accounts.google.com.
If I share my calendar, can the other person see my passwords or other personal information?
No — they can only see the calendar you shared and nothing else in your Google account. Sharing a calendar does not give them access to your email, files, photos, or any other data.
Can I share my calendar with someone outside my organization?
Yes — you can share with anyone who has a Gmail address or any Google account, regardless of whether they work at your company. Enter their email address in the sharing settings just as you would for anyone else.