Google Calendar is one of the most widely used scheduling tools in the world, but sharing it correctly is trickier than it should be. The sharing controls are buried in settings menus, permission levels aren't always obvious, and what happens when you share isn't always what you'd expect.

This guide walks through every way to share a Google Calendar: with specific people, via a public link, on iPhone and Android, and across platforms like Outlook and Apple Calendar. You don't need any third-party tools to do most of this. Just a few minutes and the right steps.

Before diving in: there are two types of sharing. Sharing your calendar so others can see your events is different from sharing your availability so others can book time with you. This guide covers the first. If you're trying to let people book meetings, look at scheduling tools instead.

Key Takeaways

• You can share any Google Calendar you own with specific people, with a public link, or by making it visible to your organization

• Permission levels matter: "See only free/busy" hides event details, while "Make changes" gives full edit access

• Cross-platform sharing (to Outlook or Apple Calendar) works via the ICAL URL, but updates may not sync in real time

How to Share a Google Calendar with Specific People

This is the most common use case: sharing your calendar with a colleague, partner, or family member so they can see your schedule.

On desktop (Google Calendar on the web):

1. Open Google Calendar at calendar.google.com

2. In the left sidebar, find the calendar you want to share under "My calendars"

3. Hover over it and click the three-dot menu that appears

4. Select "Settings and sharing"

5. Scroll to the "Share with specific people or groups" section

6. Click "Add people and groups" and enter the email address of the person you want to share with

7. Choose the permission level (see below), then click "Send"

The recipient gets an email with a link to add the calendar to their Google Calendar. Once they accept, your calendar shows up in their sidebar. Note that you can only share calendars you own. You can't re-share a calendar someone else shared with you.

Understanding Permission Levels

When you share a Google Calendar, you choose how much access the other person gets. There are four options:

• See only free/busy (hide details): They can see when you're busy but can't read event names or descriptions. Good for sharing with people outside your team.

• See all event details: They can read all your event information but can't change anything. This is the most common choice for sharing with coworkers or a partner.

• Make changes to events: Full edit access. They can create, modify, and delete events on your calendar. Use this carefully.

• Make changes and manage sharing: Full edit access plus the ability to share the calendar with others. Only grant this to people you fully trust.

You can change someone's permission level or remove them from access at any time by going back to Settings and sharing for that calendar.

How to Share via a Public Link

If you want to share your calendar with people outside of Google or post it somewhere publicly (a website, newsletter, or team wiki), you can get a shareable link.

1. Go to Settings and sharing for the calendar

2. Scroll to "Access permissions for events"

3. Check "Make available to public" (this makes all events visible to anyone with the link)

4. Choose whether to show full event details or free/busy only

5. Copy the "Get shareable link" URL and share it

There's also an ICAL link option on the same page. This is the format other calendar apps (Outlook, Apple Calendar) use to subscribe to your calendar. See the cross-platform section below for details on using it.

One thing to know: making a calendar public means anyone with the link can see your events. Don't do this with a calendar that contains sensitive personal or business information.

How to Share Google Calendar on iPhone or Android

The Google Calendar mobile app doesn't support changing calendar sharing settings directly. You have to go to the web version (calendar.google.com) in a browser on your phone to manage sharing. But the process is the same as desktop once you're there.

Steps on mobile browser:

1. Open calendar.google.com in your phone's browser

2. Tap the three-line menu in the top left to open the sidebar

3. Tap the three-dot menu next to the calendar name

4. Select "Settings and sharing"

5. Follow the same steps as the desktop process

If you're on iPhone and want your Google Calendar events to show up in Apple Calendar, there's a separate process. See the Apple Calendar vs Google Calendar comparison for a breakdown of how the two work together, and the sync limitations to expect.

How to Share with Outlook or Apple Calendar

Cross-platform calendar sharing works via the ICAL URL, which Google provides for each calendar. The other person subscribes to that URL in their own calendar app, and your events show up as a read-only feed.

To get the ICAL link:

1. Go to Settings and sharing for your Google Calendar

2. Scroll to the "Integrate calendar" section at the bottom

3. Copy the "Secret address in iCal format" (for private sharing) or the "Public address in iCal format" (if you've made the calendar public)

4. Send this link to the other person

In Outlook, they go to File > Account Settings > Internet Calendars > New and paste the URL. In Apple Calendar, they go to File > New Calendar Subscription and paste it in. For a full walkthrough of the Outlook and Google Calendar integration, that guide covers the reverse direction (adding Outlook to Google) as well.

One limitation: ICAL subscriptions are one-directional and update on a delay (usually every few hours). It's a calendar feed, not a live sync. Changes you make in Google Calendar show up eventually in Outlook, but not instantly.

Managing Calendar Privacy Settings

Beyond sharing individual calendars, Google Calendar has event-level privacy controls worth knowing about. On any event, you can set its visibility to "Default," "Public," or "Private." A private event shows as "Busy" to anyone who can see your calendar, even if they have "See all event details" permission.

This is useful when you share your work calendar with colleagues but have personal appointments you don't want them to see. Mark those events as Private and they'll only ever see that you're blocked, not what for.

For organizations using Google Workspace, admins can control what employees can share externally. If you're trying to share a work calendar with someone outside your company and it's not working, the admin may have disabled external sharing. Check with your IT team before assuming it's a settings error.

Best Tool for Smarter Shared Calendar Management

Sharing a Google Calendar is one thing. Getting the most out of a shared calendar is another. Lifestack connects to Google Calendar and uses AI to schedule around your energy levels and commitments, not just open time slots. When you're working from a shared calendar (a team calendar, a family schedule, a partner's availability), Lifestack factors all of it in so your tasks and habits land in times that actually work. It's particularly useful if you find yourself struggling with calendar overload and ADHD, where seeing too many events creates friction instead of clarity. You can explore how it compares to other tools on the best AI planner app roundup, or see what apps work best alongside Google Calendar in general.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I share a Google Calendar with someone who doesn't have Gmail?

You can share with any email address, not just Gmail. Enter the non-Gmail address in the "Share with specific people" field. They'll get an email with a link. If they don't have a Google account, they can view the calendar through a web link but won't be able to subscribe to it natively. The ICAL URL option works better for non-Google users who want to add it to Outlook or Apple Calendar.

Can I share a specific event instead of my whole calendar?

Not natively via sharing settings. To share a single event, open it and use the "Send email to guests" option to invite specific people, or copy the event link from the event details. Guests receive an invite and can RSVP; they don't gain access to your full calendar.

Why can't I share my Google Calendar from the mobile app?

Google hasn't built calendar sharing controls into the mobile app. You have to use the web version at calendar.google.com in a browser. This is a known frustration and hasn't changed as of 2026. The workaround is to open the site in your phone's browser using "desktop mode" if the mobile version doesn't show all the settings.

How do I stop sharing a Google Calendar?

Go to Settings and sharing for the calendar, find the person under "Share with specific people," and click the X next to their name. They'll lose access immediately. For public links, uncheck "Make available to public" in the access permissions section.

What is the difference between sharing a calendar and sharing your availability?

Sharing a calendar gives someone ongoing visibility into your events (past, present, and future). Sharing your availability means giving people a link where they can book time with you, like a Calendly or booking page. Google Calendar has a basic "appointment schedule" feature for the latter. Sharing your whole calendar is more useful for teams or relationships where ongoing visibility matters, like sharing with a manager or partner.

Can I see who has access to my Google Calendar?

Yes. Go to Settings and sharing for any calendar and look at the "Share with specific people" section. It lists everyone who currently has access and their permission level. You can modify or remove access from there. For broader time management tools that work with shared calendars, Lifestack and other AI schedulers pull from Google Calendar directly so the permissions you set here apply to those tools too.