How to make Outlook or Google Calendar private

You're using a big-tech calendar product or migrating to a privacy-first one. How do you keep it private?

Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar logos with red security warning badges.

There are many reasons why using a digital calendar can be beneficial. First and foremost, a digital calendar allows you to easily access and update your schedule from any device with an internet connection. This means that you can add or remove appointments, events, and tasks from your calendar on the go, without having to carry around a physical planner or notebook.Another advantage of using a digital calendar is that it can help you stay organized and on top of your schedule. With a digital calendar, you can set reminders and alerts for upcoming events and tasks, ensuring that you never miss an important date or deadline. You can also use a digital calendar to keep track of multiple calendars at once, such as your work schedule and personal schedule, making it easier to manage your time and stay on top of your commitments.In addition, digital calendars often come with additional features and tools that can help you be more productive and efficient. For example, many digital calendars allow you to share your calendar with others, making it easier to coordinate and plan events and meetings with friends, family, and colleagues. Some digital calendars also integrate with other productivity tools, such as task managers and email programs, allowing you to easily manage your to-do list and stay on top of your email inbox.Overall, using a digital calendar can help you stay organized, manage your time more effectively, and be more productive in both your personal and professional life. Whether you're a busy student, a busy parent, or a busy professional, a digital calendar can help you stay on top of your schedule and keep track of all your important dates and deadlines.

How to change your event privacy settings

Below, we include a tutorial for changing privacy settings on Google Calendar and Outlook, which are two of the most widely used shared calendars.Google CalendarTo change the privacy settings for your Google Calendar, you will need to follow these steps:

Open Google Calendar on your computer and log in to your Google account.
Click on the "Settings" icon in the top right corner of the screen (it looks like a gear).
In the left-hand menu, click on the calendar that you want to change the privacy settings for.
Click on the "Share this Calendar" tab.
Under the "Share with specific people" section, you will see a list of people who have access to your calendar. To change their access, click on the drop-down menu next to their name and select the appropriate level of access.
Once you have made your changes, click on the "Save" button to save your changes.

Keep in mind that the privacy settings for your Google Calendar can also be managed on your mobile device. To do this, open the Google Calendarapp on your phone and follow the steps above.Microsoft OutlookTo change the privacy settings for your MicrosoftOutlook calendar, you will need to follow these steps:

Open Microsoft Outlook on your computer and log in to your account.
In the navigation pane on the left-hand side of the screen, click on the "Calendar" icon.
In the top menu, click on the "Calendar" tab and then select "Calendar Permissions" from the drop-down menu.
In the "Calendar Properties" window, click on the "Permissions" tab.
In the "Permissions" tab, you will see a list of people who have access to your calendar. To change their access, select the person's name from the list and then click on the "Permission Level" drop-down menu to select the appropriate level of access.
Once you have made your changes, click on the "OK" button to save your changes.
Keep in mind that the privacy settings for your MicrosoftOutlook calendar can also be managed on your mobile device. To do this, open the Microsoft Outlook app on your phone and follow the steps above.

Who can see my calendar

The visibility of your calendar on Google or Microsoft depends on the privacy settings that you have configured for your calendar. By default, your Gmail or Microsoft calendar is only visible to you, but you can choose to share it with specific people or make it publicly accessible. However, on Google Workspace, your calendar is by default accessible to your other team members.If you want to share your calendar with specific people, you can add their email addresses to your calendar's sharing settings. This will allow them to view your calendar and schedule events on it. You can control the level of access that they have, such as whether they can edit events or just view them. If you want to make your calendar publicly accessible, you can enable the "Make this calendar public" option in your calendar's sharing settings. This will make your calendar visible to anyone who has the link to it, and they will be able to view and add events to your calendar.It's important to note that anyone who has access to your calendar will be able to see the details of your events, such as the title, location, and description. They will also be able to see any notes or attachments that you have added to your events.Given how sensitive your personal or professional calendar events are - family meetings, job interviews, travel, dinners, and more - we highly encourage switching to a privacy-first calendar product, like Skiff Calendar.

Fully private calendars

A fully private Calendar goes beyond simply default visibility settings - it is built to keep your information completely private to you alone. This includes end-to-end encryption, integrations with a private mail service, and limited or no metadata collection.Skiff Calendar is built to be private on all three of these dimensions. End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a method of securing communication between two parties so that only the intended recipients can read content using encryption keys. On Skiff Calendar, calendar names, event titles, external participants, and all other event details are all kept end-to-end encrypted.Skiff Calendar integrates natively with Skiff Mail, an end-to-end encrypted, privacy-first email service that collects no personally identifying information and keeps your messages private to you. Skiff Mail works on Apple iOS, iPhone, Android, Mac, and all web browsers with notifications on mobile.

Q&A

Why does end-to-end encryption matter?End-to-end encryption for your calendar means that only you can read your event titles, notes, locations, and other data. Your calendar holds the history of your life. You should own it.How do calendars share events?Calendars communicate using email and iCal format (ICS). This common format enables an Outlook.com email address to sync Google calendar invites, or a Skiff Calendar to send external invites to a personal calendar on another email product. However, this makes it even more important to use a privacy-first email, which protects inbound and outbound calendar events as well as all other mail.What sharing options are available on private calendars?You can still share any other individuals on a privacy-first calendar. This is done by decrypting events on your calendar client without sharing any technology provider or other individuals.