Subscribing to another person’s Google Calendar requires that calendar’s appropriate sharing permission. It can help compare availability without copying their events into your calendar. A subscription request is not authorization to see private details or to edit another person’s schedule.
Request the intended calendar
Use a computer web browser. Beside Other calendars, choose Subscribe to calendar and enter the person’s email address or select the intended calendar. Google’s guidance says the owner receives an access request if the calendar has not already been shared.
Wait for appropriate access
The owner decides what information and capabilities to grant, subject to organization policy. Free or Busy may be enough for scheduling. Do not request broad editing or sharing-management access simply to find an available meeting time.
The mobile app does not provide this new-subscription workflow. After access is approved, the calendar can appear in the app through the account’s normal calendar display.
Verify the maintained view
Find the shared calendar under Other calendars and inspect a representative permitted event or availability block. Confirm which account received access. A public URL subscription is a separate route and should not be used to force a private calendar into public visibility. Keep imported copies separate from subscriptions: copying a file does not establish ongoing maintenance. The result should be access to the intended owner’s calendar at the agreed permission level, without creating duplicate events or treating a pending request as a completed sharing grant. Confirm acceptance before depending on this shared view.
References
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 4, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.