Share Google Calendar Availability Without Exposing Appointment Details
Someone arranging appointments may only need to know when you are busy. Giving them full calendar details can reveal customer names, locations and notes they do not need. Choose the permission around the task before sharing the calendar.
Write down whether the person needs to see available time, read appointment details, edit bookings or manage other people’s access. These are different jobs. Do not choose an editing role just because it appears to solve a viewing problem.
Check the broadest access
In Google Calendar on a computer, open the calendar’s Settings and sharing. Review both its general Access permissions for events and its Shared with list. See only free/busy hides event names and details for that permission level.
A narrow permission for one person does not override a broader route they already have. Google gives the example of a public calendar showing event details: adding someone with free/busy access does not make the public details private to that person. Check public, organisation and group access as well as the individual entry.
Work or school administrators may restrict available sharing options. If the required choice is missing, establish the policy with the administrator instead of publishing the calendar as a workaround.
Verify what the other person sees
Create or identify a harmless test appointment with a recognisable title and description. Have the authorised viewer inspect it using their own account. Confirm they see the intended busy block or details and cannot perform actions beyond the agreed role.
Do not rely only on your owner view. It shows information the recipient may not see, and therefore cannot demonstrate that the sharing boundary works.
For a team booking process, consider whether a separate work calendar would make the responsibilities clearer. Record who maintains the sharing list and review it when roles change. Calendar access should reflect the current scheduling job, rather than accumulating everyone who ever helped arrange a meeting.
References: Google Calendar permissions.