The two ways to share your calendar with someone
Google Calendar lets you share in two different ways, and which one you use depends on what you want the other person to see. You can give someone access to your entire calendar so they see all your events, or you can invite them to a single event. Most people use both methods depending on the situation.
Sharing your whole calendar works best for people who need the full picture — a manager who schedules your time, a family member coordinating household plans, or a colleague on a shared project. Inviting people to individual events is what you do for meetings, appointments, or one-off gatherings where only certain people need to know.
Key Takeaways
- To share your entire calendar, open Settings, find the calendar name, and use the "Share with specific people" section to add their email address and choose their permission level.
- To invite people to a single event, open the event, click "Add guests," type their email address, and send the invitation.
- You can set different permission levels when sharing your whole calendar: "See all event details," "See only free/busy," or "Make changes to events."
- People you invite to events receive an email invitation and can accept, decline, or mark themselves as "maybe" — their response shows up in the event details.
- If someone's email is not in your contacts, you can still type their full email address directly into the guest field.
How to share your entire calendar with someone
Open Google Calendar and look for the calendar list on the left side of the screen. Find the calendar you want to share — usually it says "My calendar" or has your name. Hover your mouse over that calendar name until three dots appear, then click them and select "Settings and sharing."
Scroll down to the section called "Share with specific people." Click the "Add people" button. Type the email address of the person you want to share with, then click the dropdown menu next to their name to choose what they can see and do. The three options are: "See all event details" (they see everything but cannot change anything), "See only free/busy" (they see only whether you are busy or free, not event names or details), and "Make changes to events" (they can edit or delete your events). Click "Share" and Google Calendar sends them an email notification.
If you change your mind later, go back to that same "Share with specific people" section, find their name, and click the trash icon next to it to remove access.
How to invite people to a single event
Open the event you want to invite people to by clicking on it in your calendar. Click the "Edit event" button (it looks like a pencil). In the event details, find the "Guests" field and click it. Type the email address of the person you want to invite. If they are in your contacts, their name appears as a suggestion — click it to add them. If not, type their full email address and press Enter.
You can add as many people as you need by repeating this step. Once you have added everyone, click "Save" at the top of the page. Google Calendar automatically sends them an email invitation with the event details, date, and time. They will receive the invitation in their inbox and can click to accept, decline, or mark themselves as "maybe."
When someone responds to your invitation, you see their response in the event details. Open the event and look at the "Guests" section to see who has accepted, who is still deciding, and who declined.
What happens when you invite someone who does not use Google Calendar
If you invite someone with an email address that is not a Google account, they still receive an email invitation. They can open the email and click the response buttons to accept or decline without needing to log into Google Calendar. The event will not appear in their calendar automatically, but they have the information they need.
Some email providers let people add the event to their own calendar by downloading an attachment from the invitation email. If they use Outlook, Apple Mail, or another calendar app, they can usually import the event that way. The exact steps depend on their email provider, so you may want to let them know they can ask their email support if they need help.
Permission levels explained
When you share your entire calendar, Google Calendar offers three permission levels. "See all event details" means the person can view every event, the time, the location, the description, and any notes you added — but they cannot change anything. This is the safest option if you want someone to know your schedule without risking accidental changes.
"See only free/busy" shows the person only whether you are available or busy at any given time. They cannot see event names, locations, or details. This is useful if you want to share your availability for scheduling purposes but keep event details private.
"Make changes to events" lets the person edit, delete, or create events on your calendar as if they were you. Use this only for people you trust completely, like a close family member or an assistant who manages your schedule. They can change anything without asking permission first.
Removing someone from your calendar or an event
To stop sharing your entire calendar with someone, open Settings and sharing for that calendar, find their name in the "Share with specific people" section, and click the trash icon. They lose access immediately and cannot see your calendar anymore.
To remove someone from a single event, open the event, click "Edit event," find their name in the "Guests" section, and click the X next to their name. Click "Save" and Google Calendar sends them a cancellation notice. If you are removing them because the event is cancelled entirely, you can also click "Delete event" instead, and everyone invited receives a cancellation email.
Troubleshooting common problems
If someone says they did not receive an invitation, ask them to check their spam or junk folder — sometimes email invitations end up there by mistake. If it is not there, open the event again, remove their email address from the guests list, and add them again. This sends a fresh invitation.
If you invited someone but their name does not show up in the guest list, the email address may be typed incorrectly. Double-check the spelling and try again. If you are inviting someone from outside your organization and they have a very new email address, there may be a slight delay before Google Calendar recognizes it.
If someone has permission to edit your calendar but you want to limit what they can change, Google Calendar does not offer a middle ground — you can only choose between "see only" and "make changes." If you need more control, consider creating a separate shared calendar just for events they should be able to edit, and keep your personal calendar private.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I invite someone to an event if I do not know their email address?
No, you need their email address to send an invitation. If you know their name but not their email, you can ask them directly or check your organization's directory if you work together. Once you have their email, type it into the guests field and send the invitation.
What if someone declines my event invitation?
Their response shows up in the event details so you can see who declined. The event stays on your calendar. If you need to reschedule or want to follow up with them, you can open the event and contact them directly — Google Calendar does not send automatic follow-up messages.
Can I see if someone has read my calendar invitation email?
No, Google Calendar does not tell you whether someone has opened the invitation email. You only see their response when they click accept, decline, or maybe. If you need to know whether they saw it, you can send them a separate message asking.
Do people I share my calendar with see my private events?
Yes, if you give someone permission to "see all event details," they see every event including ones you marked as private. The "private" label in Google Calendar is just a note for you — it does not hide the event from people you have shared your calendar with. If you want to hide an event from someone, do not share your calendar with them, or create a separate calendar just for events you want to keep private.
Can I share my calendar with a group or team instead of one person at a time?
Google Calendar does not have a built-in feature to share with a group email address. You have to add each person individually by their personal email address. If you manage a team calendar, you can create a separate shared calendar and add people to that instead, which is often easier than sharing your personal calendar with many people.