Built-in option: share free/busy
In the account that has the events, open the calendar's Settings and sharing, share it with the other Google account, and choose See only free/busy (hide details). The other account adds it from the invite email. It shows as another calendar overlaid on that view. People can only find out when you are busy. They cannot find names or other event details.
What sharing does not do
- Others see busy only if they look at your shared calendar. The events stay on that calendar. They do not become events on the calendar other people book.
- Booking links and colleagues scheduling on your work calendar still see you as free unless they also have that shared overlay open. An appointment-schedule booking page only checks extra calendars if that account's owner turns that on and selects them. Checking secondary calendars needs an eligible Workspace or Google One plan.
- Work or school admins can limit or block external sharing. Google Calendar Help also says your administrator decides whether you can share a work or school calendar.
Google Calendar Help steps checked Oct 31, 2026. Sharing versus writing holds is also covered in the How to avoid double booking across Google Calendars guide.
Copy or create Busy blocks by hand
Google Calendar can copy an event to another calendar you can write to: open the event, choose Options, pick the destination calendar, and save. That writes a real event onto the destination, so Find a time and booking tools that read that calendar can treat it as busy.
Or, on the calendar other people book, create an event for the same time as the personal commitment. To hide the name, set the event Private. Google Calendar Help says people who only have free/busy access then see a block labeled Busy.
What a hand-made block does not do
- You create each block yourself. Nothing reads the other Google account and opens the event for you.
- A copy is a snapshot. Google Calendar Help does not say the copy updates when the original event moves or is cancelled.
- The destination has to appear in that account's calendar picker. A personal Gmail event does not list a work calendar unless that work calendar is shared with write access.
- A copy keeps the event title and other details unless you edit the copy after you save. People with See event details still see the title you typed, unless you set the event Private.
Google Calendar Help steps checked Oct 31, 2026.
How Resync's Busy holds work
Resync does not share calendars with each other. It reads when you are busy on Google calendars you mark as sources and writes hold events onto Google calendars you mark as mirrors. $1.50/month or $9/year after a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
- Holds are titled Busy. Description, location, attendees, and conference data are left empty, so source meeting details stay on the source calendar.
- When you mark calendars as both source and mirror, a booking on either calendar becomes a Busy hold on the others. That is two-way blocking between those Google calendars.
- If a source event moves, Resync updates the hold. If the event is cancelled, marked free, declined, or is a working-location event, Resync does not keep a hold.
- Resync looks 90 days ahead when it reads source events. Holds it writes are marked so they are not copied again.
- Resync watches source calendars and updates holds when those events change. A polling fallback also runs about every 5 minutes.
- If you delete or edit a hold, Resync records that and does not recreate it for the same source event on that mirror.
- Read-only calendars cannot be mirrors. Resync currently syncs Google calendars only.
Use sharing when you only need to see the other calendar. Use a copy or a hand-made Busy event for a one-off hold. Use Resync when the calendars that get booked should treat the other account's busy time as busy — for example a personal Gmail calendar and a work Google Calendar.
Set up Resync
- Sign in with GoogleOpen Resync and sign in with the Google account you want as your primary account. You land on setup.
- Connect another Google accountChoose Connect another Google account and finish Google's permission screen. Resync needs at least two Google accounts before you can start.
- Start syncingWhen a second account is connected, setup shows bidirectional mirroring as the intended default: real events on either side become private busy blocks on the other. Choose Start syncing to open the dashboard.
- Mark sources and mirrorsIn Sync configuration, turn on Source to read busy time from a calendar and Mirror to receive Busy holds. A calendar can be both. Read-only calendars cannot be mirrors because Resync needs write access to create holds.
What other people see
On the calendar you mark as a mirror, Resync writes a confirmed event titled Busy for the same start and end as the source event. The hold is opaque, so Find a time and booking tools that read that calendar treat the time as busy.
- People with free/busy access see a Busy block. They do not see the source meeting name.
- People who can see event details on the mirror calendar still see the title Busy, not the personal or source event title.
- If the source event is Private, the hold is Private. Otherwise the hold uses default visibility. Either way, the title stays Busy and the body stays empty.
- Sharing the source calendar as free/busy is different: other people only see those busy times if they look at that shared overlay. Resync's holds live on the booked calendar itself.
What is and isn't copied
Resync copies the source event's start and end so the hold occupies the same window. It does not copy meeting details.
- Copied: start time, end time, and time zone. The hold is titled Busy and marked so Resync can find it later.
- Not copied: source title, description, location, attendees, conference data, or attachments. Those stay on the source calendar.
- Not mirrored: events marked free, events you declined, and working-location events. Holds Resync already wrote are skipped so Busy blocks are not copied back.
- If you delete or edit a hold, Resync records that change and does not recreate a hold for the same source event on that mirror.
Compare the options
| Compare | Share free/busy | Copy or hand-made Busy | Resync |
|---|
| Blocks the calendar others book | No, not by itself. The shared calendar is an overlay. Booking pages only check it if that account's owner turns on extra-calendar availability and selects it. | Yes, if you copy or create the event on the calendar others book. You do that one event at a time. | Yes. Resync writes Busy holds onto the calendars you mark as mirrors. |
|---|
| Shows personal event details | Only if you grant See event details. See only free/busy (hide details) hides names and other details. | A copy keeps the original title and details unless you edit them. A Private event shows as Busy to people with free/busy access. | No. Holds are titled Busy. Description, location, attendees, and conference data stay empty. |
|---|
| Stays in sync when events change | The overlay follows the shared calendar after the other account adds it. Sharing does not write updates onto the booked calendar. | No. A copy or hand-made block is a snapshot. If the personal event moves or is cancelled, you update the work calendar yourself. | Resync watches source calendars and updates or removes holds when those events change, move, or are cancelled. A polling fallback also runs about every 5 minutes. |
|---|
| Works across two Google accounts | Yes as a view. Work or school admins can limit or block sharing outside the organization. | Only if the destination calendar is writable from the account you are in. A personal Gmail event does not appear in the work account's calendar picker unless that calendar is shared with write access. | If you can sign in to both Google accounts and grant calendar access, Resync can read one and write holds on the other. It does not depend on sharing the calendars with each other. |
|---|
Share free/busy
- Blocks the calendar others book
- No, not by itself. The shared calendar is an overlay. Booking pages only check it if that account's owner turns on extra-calendar availability and selects it.
- Shows personal event details
- Only if you grant See event details. See only free/busy (hide details) hides names and other details.
- Stays in sync when events change
- The overlay follows the shared calendar after the other account adds it. Sharing does not write updates onto the booked calendar.
- Works across two Google accounts
- Yes as a view. Work or school admins can limit or block sharing outside the organization.
Copy or hand-made Busy
- Blocks the calendar others book
- Yes, if you copy or create the event on the calendar others book. You do that one event at a time.
- Shows personal event details
- A copy keeps the original title and details unless you edit them. A Private event shows as Busy to people with free/busy access.
- Stays in sync when events change
- No. A copy or hand-made block is a snapshot. If the personal event moves or is cancelled, you update the work calendar yourself.
- Works across two Google accounts
- Only if the destination calendar is writable from the account you are in. A personal Gmail event does not appear in the work account's calendar picker unless that calendar is shared with write access.
Resync
- Blocks the calendar others book
- Yes. Resync writes Busy holds onto the calendars you mark as mirrors.
- Shows personal event details
- No. Holds are titled Busy. Description, location, attendees, and conference data stay empty.
- Stays in sync when events change
- Resync watches source calendars and updates or removes holds when those events change, move, or are cancelled. A polling fallback also runs about every 5 minutes.
- Works across two Google accounts
- If you can sign in to both Google accounts and grant calendar access, Resync can read one and write holds on the other. It does not depend on sharing the calendars with each other.
FAQ
How do I show busy time from one Google Calendar on another without sharing event details?
Sharing the source calendar with See only free/busy (hide details) lets the other account overlay when you are busy. That is a view on the source calendar. It does not write blocks onto the calendar colleagues or booking links check. To hold the time there, copy or create a Busy event by hand, or use Resync to write private Busy holds from source calendars onto mirror calendars.
Does sharing a Google Calendar as free/busy block time on my work calendar?
No. Sharing lets someone look at your calendar and see busy blocks. It does not create events on the other calendar. Appointment-schedule booking pages only check extra calendars if that account's owner turns that on and selects them, and checking secondary calendars needs an eligible Workspace or Google One plan.
Can I block time on my work calendar from my personal calendar by hand?
Yes. Copy an event onto a calendar you can write to, or create a new event on the work calendar and set it Private so people with free/busy access see a block labeled Busy. Those copies and blocks do not update when the personal event moves or is cancelled, and a copy keeps the original title unless you edit it.
Does Resync copy event titles or attendees?
No. The hold is titled Busy. Description, location, attendees, and conference data are left empty. Free, declined, and working-location source events do not get a hold. Resync also skips holds it already wrote, so those Busy events are not copied back.
What do other people see on the calendar Resync writes to?
They see a hold titled Busy for the same start and end as the source event. People with free/busy access see a Busy block. People who can see event details on that mirror calendar still see the title Busy, not the source meeting name. Source titles, descriptions, locations, and attendees stay on the source calendar.
How far ahead does Resync sync, and how often?
Resync reads source events in a 90-day window from now. It watches source calendars and updates or removes holds when those events change, move, or are cancelled. A polling fallback also runs about every 5 minutes. $1.50/month or $9/year after a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
Connect the Google calendars you want to keep aligned, then mark sources and mirrors on the dashboard.
Resync will ask Google for permission to:see your list of calendars; see events on the calendars you choose as Sources, to know when you're busy; and create, update and delete events titled "Busy" on calendars you choose as Mirrors. We never store event titles, attendees or locations. Privacy policy
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