Google Calendar is a powerful tool for coordinating schedules, whether for family events, team projects, or community groups. A common point of confusion, however, is figuring out how to actually see and access calendars that others have shared with you. The process is straightforward once you know where to look, but the options differ slightly between the web browser version and the mobile app. This guide will walk you through the exact steps to find, view, and manage all calendars shared with your Google account.
When someone shares a Google Calendar with you, they send an invitation to your email address. Accepting this invitation is the first step to adding it to your view. However, calendars can sometimes seem to disappear, or you might want to revisit a calendar you previously accepted. The central hub for managing this on a computer is the "Other calendars" section, typically found on the left-hand sidebar of the Google Calendar website. This area lists all calendars you are subscribed to, including those shared by others.
To view a shared calendar on the Google Calendar website, start by opening calendar.google.com in your browser. Look on the left side for the "My calendars" and "Other calendars" sections. Directly next to "Other calendars," you will see a plus (+) sign. Click this plus sign and then select "Subscribe to calendar." A new window will appear. Here, you can enter the email address of the person who owns the calendar you believe was shared. If you have the correct permissions, their calendar will appear in the search results. Click it to subscribe, and it will instantly appear in your "Other calendars" list, where you can toggle its visibility on and off.
What if you can't remember who shared a calendar with you? A more comprehensive method is to check your Google Calendar settings. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner and choose "Settings." In the left menu, click "Add calendar" and then "Browse calendars of interest." This might sound misleading, but it leads to a crucial page. Instead, look for and click "Manage subscriptions" under the "Add calendar" section. This page lists every calendar you are subscribed to, including shared ones that may be hidden from your main view. From here, you can rename them for clarity or change their display color.
Using the Google Calendar app on your Android or iOS device follows a similar logic but with a different interface. Open the app and tap the hamburger menu (three lines) in the top left corner. Your list of calendars will appear. Scroll down past "My calendars" to find "Other calendars." Any shared calendars you've added should be listed here. To add a new shared calendar in the app, the process usually starts from an email invitation. Tapping "Yes" on the invitation within the Gmail app is the most direct method. You can also try tapping your profile picture or initial in the app, going to "Settings," then "Add account," but subscribing via a specific email address is more reliably done on the web version first.
I recently helped a friend organize a volunteer schedule for a local event. The team lead had shared a calendar, but my friend couldn't find it in her app. After a quick check, we discovered she had never clicked "Yes" on the original email invitation sitting in her Promotions tab. Once she did, the calendar popped up immediately under "Other calendars" on her phone. This is a very common hiccup—always start by checking for that invitation email.
Sometimes, you might see a calendar in your list but it's not showing any events. Ensure the calendar is toggled on. In the website sidebar or the app's menu, each calendar has a small colored box next to its name. Clicking or tapping this box hides or shows the calendar. If it's unchecked (showing only the outline), the events are hidden. Also, check the calendar's sharing permissions. If the owner has only granted you "See only free/busy" permission, you will see blocked-out time slots without event details.
For optimal management, take a moment to organize your shared calendars. On the web, you can click the three dots next to a calendar in the "Other calendars" list and choose a distinctive color. You can also rename it by going into "Settings" > "Manage subscriptions." This is invaluable when you're subscribed to multiple team or project calendars, as "John's Calendar" and "Marketing Team" are much clearer than generic email addresses.
If you've followed all these steps and still cannot access a calendar you believe was shared, the issue likely lies with the sharing permissions. You will need to contact the calendar's owner and ask them to verify they shared it with the correct email address and with the permission level you expect (e.g., "See all event details"). They can do this by going to their calendar settings, finding the "Share with specific people" section, and confirming your email is listed.
Mastering the viewing of shared calendars transforms Google Calendar from a personal scheduler into a collaborative command center. By knowing how to navigate the "Other calendars" section on the web, manage subscriptions in settings, and properly accept invitations in the mobile app, you ensure you never miss an important shared event again. The key is understanding that accepting an invitation subscribes you, and managing those subscriptions gives you full control over your consolidated schedule view.