Sharing a family calendar between Google Calendar and iPhone

The common setup: one parent lives in Google Calendar, the other in the iPhone’s Calendar app. Each has a calendar full of kid events, and neither can see the other’s. The fix is one shared calendar both of you can edit, visible in whichever app you already use.

The short version: build it in Google. Apple Calendar can show and edit a Google calendar, but Google can’t edit a shared iCloud calendar. Here’s how, and the pitfalls that catch most families.

Step 1: Create a family calendar in Google

Make a separate calendar for the family rather than sharing your personal one. Then your dentist appointment stays yours, and the kids’ stuff is in one place.

1. Use a browser on a computer. Google says you can only create new calendars from a browser; after that, it shows up in the app too (Google Calendar Help).
2. Next to Other calendars, click Add other calendars, then Create new calendar.
3. Name it something both of you will recognize, like “Family” or “Kids”, and click Create calendar.

Step 2: Share it with the other parent

1. Under My calendars, hover over the new calendar, click the three-dot menu, and choose Settings and sharing.
2. Click Shared with, then Add people and groups, and enter the other parent’s email.
3. Pick a permission. For a co-parent, choose one of the “Make changes” options so they can add and edit events. “Make changes and manage sharing” also lets them add a grandparent or sitter later.
4. Click Send. Google emails them, and they have to click the link in that email to add the calendar (Google Calendar Help). If it doesn’t arrive, check the address and their spam folder.

For a grandparent or sitter who only needs to look, “See event details” is enough.

Step 3: Add the Google account to the iPhone

The iPhone user doesn’t need the Google Calendar app. Apple’s own Calendar app can show Google calendars.

1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then Calendar.
2. Tap Calendar Accounts, then Add Account, then Google, and sign in. Those are Apple’s steps (Apple Support).
3. Turn on Calendars. If you only want the calendar, turn off mail and contacts for that account (Google Calendar Help).
4. Open Calendar, tap Calendars, and make sure the family calendar is ticked.

Step 4: Make it the default (the step everyone skips)

On an iPhone, new events go to the default calendar. If that’s still the personal iCloud calendar, everything the iPhone parent adds is invisible to the Google parent, and you’re back where you started.

Fix it under Settings › Apps › Calendar › Default Calendar and pick the shared family calendar (Apple Support). Events already on the wrong calendar can be moved: open the event, tap Calendar, and choose the family one.

The Google parent has the same trap: when creating an event in Google Calendar, check the calendar picker in the event before saving.

The iCloud route, and its limits

If you’re both on iPhone, a shared iCloud calendar is simple and works well:

• Private sharing. In Calendar, tap Calendars, tap the info button next to an iCloud calendar, tap Add Person, and choose whether they can edit (Apple Support). Apple says invitees must have an Apple Account and use iCloud to use a privately shared calendar (Share a calendar on iCloud.com).
• Public calendar. Turn on Public Calendar and share the link. Apple describes this as sharing a read-only calendar: anyone with the link can subscribe, and only the owner can make changes (Apple Support).

So for a Google parent, the iCloud route means a calendar they can see but never add to. Also, anyone with a public link can see it, which isn’t ideal for kids’ schedules and locations. That’s why the Google route wins in a mixed household.

What about Family Sharing?

Apple’s Family Sharing (Set up Family Sharing on iPhone) is mainly for sharing subscriptions, purchases, locations and passwords. It can work for a family where everyone is on Apple devices, but it does nothing for someone who lives in Google Calendar or uses Android. For a mixed family, use a shared calendar as above.

Pitfalls worth knowing

• Sync isn’t instant. An event added on one phone can take a little while to appear on the other. If an account doesn’t push changes, the iPhone checks on a Fetch schedule you can set under Settings › Apps › Calendar › Calendar Accounts › Fetch New Data (Apple Support). If something’s urgent, text as well.
• Google’s email reminders don’t carry over. Google lists email notifications for events among the features that don’t work in Apple Calendar (Google Calendar Help). Use phone alerts instead.
• Reminders are per person. Google says notification settings are personal and don’t affect anyone else who has access to the calendar (Google Calendar Help). Each parent sets their own.
• New calendars come from Google, not the iPhone. Apple Calendar can’t create new Google calendars (Google Calendar Help). Use a browser.
• Invitations are not sharing. Inviting your partner to a single event sends them an invitation to answer; it doesn’t put the event on a calendar you both manage. Apple also notes that not all calendar servers support every invitation feature (Apple Support). For family logistics, put the event on the shared calendar instead of inviting.

If you don’t want to merge calendars at all

Some couples prefer to keep their own calendars and just see the combined picture. An assistant can help with that. Dottie, a family assistant you text, reads both Google and iCloud calendars (Outlook too), so it can answer “what’s on Saturday?” across both and include it all in a morning briefing.

It adds events only to Google Calendar, and only after you say yes. It never adds, changes or deletes anything in iCloud. Each family member can mark their calendars as shared with the family or private.

Comparing tools for this? See Dottie vs Cozi for how a dedicated family calendar app differs.