Who can see what, when you share a Google calendar
Most accidental oversharing is not a mistake in judgement. It is somebody picking a permission level that sounded modest and was not.
What most people assume
That 'see only free/busy' and 'see all event details' differ by a small amount.
The levels are further apart than they read
Free/busy shows blocks of time with no titles. All details shows titles, locations, notes and guests — which for most calendars is a substantial amount about your life.
Make changes lets somebody edit. Manage sharing lets them hand your calendar to other people, which is the one that surprises people later.
Choosing without thinking about it every time
For colleagues who need to schedule around you, free/busy is almost always the correct answer and almost never the one chosen.
Reserve full details for calendars created to be shared rather than for the one you live in.
The numbers
| What it describes | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly cost of managing these permissions in-app, in dollars | 0.49 |
What it looks like
What to do
- Default to free/busy for anyone who only needs to book time with you.
- Reserve 'make changes' for people who genuinely schedule on your behalf.
- Review who has access twice a year; sharing accumulates and nothing prompts you.