How to Share a Google Calendar with Family

Google Calendar sharing works per calendar, not per account. You can give family members access to your main calendar, or create a separate Family calendar for shared events and keep everything else private. Both are set up on the web at calendar.google.com.

Decide which calendar to share

To share only family events, create a separate calendar first. In the left sidebar, click the + next to Other calendars, choose Create new calendar, name it Family, and click Create calendar. It appears under My calendars. To share your existing main calendar instead, skip this step.

Open Settings and sharing

Under My calendars, hover over the calendar you want to share, click the three-dot menu that appears, and choose Settings and sharing.

Add people and pick a permission

Scroll to Share with specific people or groups and click Add people and groups. Enter each person's email address. Choose a permission level: See only free/busy (hide details), See all event details, Make changes to events, or Make changes and manage sharing. For a shared family calendar, Make changes to events lets everyone add appointments. Click Send.

Have them accept the invitation

Each person receives an email with a link to add the calendar. Once they click it, the calendar appears under Other calendars in their own Google Calendar and can be turned on and off like any other.

Put family events on the shared calendar

When creating an event, use the calendar dropdown in the event window to choose the Family calendar. Anything left on your main calendar stays private unless you shared that one as well.

If you use a Google family group. Setting up a family group at families.google.com creates a shared Family calendar for every member automatically, with no manual sharing needed.

On the phone. The Google Calendar app shows shared calendars once they are accepted, but sharing settings and permissions can only be changed on the web.