How to Share a Google Calendar

Summary

If they only need the other person to open the calendar under Other calendars and look or edit, Google’s Add people and groups is enough and they can stop. If those hours must exist as busy blocks on a calendar the other person already uses — without See event details, without a public calendar — connect the Google calendar in Keeper.sh and send busy-block copies. Native share and overlay stay read-only for that leftover.

A partner, teammate, or client needs to see a Google Calendar. If the recipient uses Outlook, see /blog/how-to-share-outlook-calendar. If they use an iPhone or iCloud, see /blog/how-to-share-iphone-calendar. To push Google hours onto Outlook as busy blocks, see /blog/sync-google-calendar-with-outlook. To copy between two of your own Google accounts, see /blog/sync-google-calendars-between-two-accounts.

Add people and groups puts a second calendar under Other calendars. See only free/busy (hide details) greys out titles on that shared calendar; it does not write events onto the recipient’s own calendar, so Find a time on them still looks empty. A public calendar, Get shareable link, or Secret address in iCal format is public or pull-only, not a private busy copy.

Keeper.sh writes private copies onto the calendar they already open. The copy uses a placeholder title from the source calendar, and description and location stay hidden by default. Signed-in iCloud is a valid destination, and two mappings cover busy-block copies both ways. Connecting copies nothing by itself.

What follows: how Add people and groups works (stop if that is the job), why free/busy, a public link, and a Workspace lock fail the leftover, then the numbered Keeper.sh setup.

To share a Google Calendar with others, open Google Calendar on a computer. In My calendars, click More, then Settings and sharing. Under Shared with, click Add people and groups, enter the recipient’s email, choose a permission from the dropdown, and click Send. Those Google Calendar sharing settings and sharing permissions are per calendar. Google documents this at Share your calendar (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37082), checked 29 Aug 2026:

“Important: If your calendar is for your work or school, your administrator decides if you can share it.”

“Under “Shared with,” click Add people and groups.”

“The people you share your calendar with get an email. To add your calendar, they must click the link in the email.”

The permission options, quoted from Google’s own definitions on 29 Aug 2026:

See only free/busy (hide details) — “People can only find out when you're busy on your calendar. They can’t find the names or details about events or tasks on your calendar.”
See event details — “People can find all details, like event names, times, places, and descriptions.”
Make changes (see private events as free/busy) — “People can edit non-private events, but can't edit private events. If a private event is “Busy,” it shows up as a busy block on your calendar with no event details. If a private event is “Free,” it does not appear on your calendar.”
Make changes and see event details — “People can edit events on your calendar and find who else it’s shared with.”
Make changes and manage sharing — “People have full control of events or tasks with start and end time on your calendar and can share your calendar with others.”

From Choose what others can do with your calendar (support.google.com/calendar/answer/15716974), checked 29 Aug 2026:

“Since the calendar is public, anyone can find details about events on your calendar, including the person that has See only free/busy (hide details) access to your calendar.”

Once shared, the calendar appears under the recipient’s Other calendars, as Google notes at Subscribe to someone else’s calendar (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37100):

“If the calendar is already shared with you: In your primary calendar, on the left, it shows under "Other calendars."”

Sharing is per calendar, not per account. If the job is simply to let the other person look at or edit this calendar under Other calendars, stop here.

Verdict: Add people and groups is the official path when the other person only needs to look at, or edit, this calendar under Other calendars. If that was the whole job, stop.

See only free/busy is a side calendar, not a copy on theirs

A named share at See only free/busy (hide details) puts grey blocks under the recipient’s Other calendars. Their own calendar for that hour is still empty. A colleague running Find a time on them sees none of those blocks. Switching the share to See event details hands over titles, places, and descriptions on the shared calendar — still not a copy on theirs.

This problem is not new. On Super User, How can I share my Google Calendar with my wife so she can see all event details? (superuser.com/questions/27397), asked 21 Aug 2009 and still live 29 Aug 2026, Nate wrote:

“In Google Calendar, when I share my primary calendar with my wife by typing in her e-mail address, the only option is “See only free/busy (hide details).””

That is the Workspace-admin lock on a primary calendar, not a missing Share button. On the Google Calendar Community, the title Can I share my calendar so others can see my 'busy blocks of time' without seeing event details? (support.google.com/calendar/thread/18660602) is still live 29 Aug 2026. People want busy blocks without titles; native free/busy is that permission on the shared calendar, not a copy on theirs.

Verdict: See only free/busy (hide details) hides titles on a side calendar. It does not put a busy copy on theirs.

Public calendar, Get shareable link, and Secret address are not a private busy copy

Three controls, one leftover job.

Make available to public and Get shareable link are documented at Share your calendar (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37082) and Create & manage a public Google calendar (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37083), checked 29 Aug 2026:

“Under “Access permissions for events,” select Make available to public.”

“When you make your calendar public, people can: Find your calendar on the internet or in search results. Use your calendar with other apps. Subscribe to your calendar and check it in Google Calendar.”

“When you make a calendar public, you can choose to let other people check all the event details or just when you're free or busy.”

“Under "Access permissions for events," check the box next to "Make available to public."”

“Tip: If you don't want other people to read the details of your events, select See only free/busy (hide details).”

“To allow people to subscribe to your calendar: Under "Access permissions for events," click Get shareable link Copy link.”

“To get a link that doesn't require people to sign in or subscribe: Click Integrate calendar copy the link in "Public URL to this calendar" to share it.”

“To share a calendar that can be accessed in iOS: Click Integrate calendar copy the link in "Public address in iCal format." The iCal address only works if the calendar is public.”

The recipient adds that URL through From URL, still under Other calendars:

“You can only add a calendar with a link if the other person's calendar is public.”

“On the left, next to "Other calendars," click Add other calendars From URL.”

“The calendar displays on the left, under "Other calendars."”

“To subscribe to a new calendar, you must use a computer web browser. You can't subscribe to a calendar in the Google Calendar app for Android, iPhone, or iPad.”

Google publishes no refresh interval for a URL-added calendar.

Secret address in iCal format is different. From Sync your calendar with computer programs (support.google.com/calendar/answer/37648), checked 29 Aug 2026:

“There are two ways to view Google Calendar in another calendar application.”

“If your calendar application doesn't have a full sync option, or if you want a read-only view of one calendar, you can sync your calendar to the application using a link to iCal.”

“In the "Secret address in iCal format" section, copy the link.”

“Important: Only you should know the Secret Address for your calendar. Do not share this address with other people. If you accidentally shared your calendar's Secret Address, click Reset to create a new Secret Address.”

“The Secret Address lets you view your calendar in other applications, like Outlook or Apple Calendar.”

“If you want to let someone else view your calendar, you can share your calendar.”

“Public address The public address is for sharing publicly, but the Secret Address isn't meant to be shared with anyone.”

A pasted ICS, subscribe, Get shareable link, or public calendar is pull-only in Keeper.sh, never a destination.

Verdict: Make available to public / Get shareable link is a public or pull-only feed. Secret address in iCal format is not how you share a calendar with someone.

A Workspace admin can lock the primary calendar at free/busy

If you have a work or school account, the administrator may have capped sharing. From Choose what others can do with your calendar (support.google.com/calendar/answer/15716974):

“If you have a work or school account, your administrator can limit sharing or turn off permission settings. If you can’t select a setting for your calendar, contact your administrator.”

Google Workspace administrators can set primary-calendar sharing limits, as documented at Set Google Calendar sharing options (support.google.com/a/answer/60765), checked 29 Aug 2026:

“After you limit external sharing for your organization, users can't exceed these limits when sharing individual events. For example, if you limit your organization's external sharing to Free/Busy and a calendar is shared with others, they will only see events as "busy."”

“External Sharing options for primary calendars”

“Only free/busy information (hide event details)—Check when your calendar is booked and when it has free time, but not the names or details of your events.”

“Internal sharing options for primary calendars” → “Only free/busy information (hide event details)—Only free/busy information displays.”

The Super User thread quoted earlier is exactly this lock on a primary calendar. Even if the admin later unlocks See event details, that is still a share under Other calendars, not a write copy. If look/edit was the job and the admin unlocked it, they can stop. The leftover that remains is still the write copy.

Verdict: A Workspace admin can cap a primary calendar at Only free/busy information (hide event details). That is why See event details may be missing. It still does not write busy blocks onto the other person’s own calendar.

Put busy-block copies on their calendar with Keeper.sh

You need a Keeper.sh account. Connecting copies nothing by itself. /docs/accounts-and-calendars: “Connecting copies nothing by itself. Events only move once you send them to another calendar.”

Connection (busy blocks on their calendar)

Sign in to Keeper.sh. Connect the Google account that holds the calendar on Google’s permission screen. The click-by-click is at /docs/accounts-and-calendars. Connecting copies nothing.
Connect the destination — the calendar the other person already uses. That can be their Google, Outlook, or signed-in iCloud calendar. If the destination is iCloud, generate an app-specific password in Apple Account settings and paste it into Connect Apple Calendar. Apple documents app-specific passwords at support.apple.com/en-us/102654, checked 29 Aug 2026:

“App-specific passwords allow you to sign in to your Apple Account in apps made by developers other than Apple.”

“To generate and use app-specific passwords, your Apple Account must be protected with two-factor authentication.”

“Sign in to your Apple Account on account.apple.com.”

“In the Sign-In and Security section, select App-Specific Passwords.”

“Select Generate an app-specific password, then follow the steps on your screen.”

“Enter or paste the app-specific password into the password field of the app when signing in to your Apple Account.”

/docs/accounts-and-calendars: “iCloud and Fastmail — an app-specific password, made in their settings.” Signed-in iCloud is a valid destination. A pasted share, ICS, or subscribe link is not.
Open the source calendar. Under Send Events to Calendars, tick the destination. One tick is one mapping. /docs/sending-events-to-another-calendar: “Each calendar you tick becomes one connection. Events are copied into it, one way, and the copies are kept corrected as the originals change.”
If you need the other direction too, open the other calendar’s page and tick back. That is two mappings, A→B and B→A, the same as Google and Outlook. One Apple ID, not two. The Free plan includes 2 accounts and 3 connections, so a pair plus one extra still fits.
Leave the privacy defaults. Copies use a placeholder title from the source calendar; description and location stay hidden. Those toggles are Pro. Guest lists are never copied. /docs/what-a-copied-event-shows: “A copied event shows the name of the calendar it came from in place of the real title, and no description or location. That is the default on every plan.”
Confirm on the destination: a real event, named after the source calendar, no notes, no location, no guest list. Wait for the next write. On Pro, Google and Outlook notify Keeper.sh the moment an event changes, so the copy lands within seconds. iCloud stays on the timer on both plans.

If nothing arrives, see /guides/event-has-not-arrived. If something appears twice, see /guides/same-event-appears-twice. Untick the calendar in Send Events to Calendars and new events stop being copied; events already copied stay where they are (/docs/sending-events-to-another-calendar: “Untick the calendar in Send Events to Calendars and new events stop being copied. Events already copied stay where they are.”).

A pasted share, ICS, subscribe, or Get shareable link is not a destination. If you connected a URL instead of signing in, you can send from it, not into it.

Feed (hand a times-only link)

Use this when you cannot write into their account. Recipe: /recipes/share-when-you-are-busy. /docs/shareable-calendar-links: “Unlike sending events to another calendar, a link copies nothing into anyone's calendar.”

Connect the Google account.
Open the iCal feed. Under Calendars, tick only the calendars whose time should count as busy.
Leave Feed Settings alone. Include Event Name, Description, and Location stay off. Events read Busy. Check the disclosure line under the link — it should say the link shares event times only. Feed settings are Pro; on Free the defaults hold.
Send the link. Treat it like a password. The default feed cannot be deleted or reissued. If it spreads, untick every calendar under Calendars.
They subscribe with Google From URL or Apple Add Subscription Calendar. The refresh belongs to their app; Google publishes no interval, and Keeper.sh cannot force it. If it looks stale, see /guides/subscribed-calendar-out-of-date.

Cadence and price

From /docs/plans-and-limits:

Sources are read every minute on every plan.
Free destinations write every 30 minutes.
Pro writes every minute. “On Pro, Google Calendar and Outlook notify Keeper.sh the moment an event changes, so the copy lands within seconds.” “iCloud, Fastmail and other CalDAV calendars are checked on a timer on either plan, because Apple publishes no way for a calendar tool to be told an event changed.”
Free: 2 accounts, 3 connections, 1 shareable link, 25 MCP/API calls a day.
“Pro is $5 a month, or $45 a year paid annually.”
Guest lists are never copied, on any plan.

See only free/busy left grey blocks on a side calendar; Find a time on them still looked empty. A Keeper.sh connection writes a private copy onto the calendar they already use.
A public calendar, Get shareable link, or Secret address was public or a full-details pull-only feed. Keeper.sh copies stay private by default — placeholder title, description and location hidden. The feed, if they can only subscribe, defaults to times only, events titled Busy.
A Workspace admin lock capped the primary at free/busy, or Add people and groups only stacked Other calendars. Copies exist as real events on the destination. Native share stays the look/edit path.