How to create a shared family calendar on iPhone, iPad, Mac
Learn how to create a Family Calendar on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac so every member can add and view events in this shared calendar and stay in sync with upcoming events.
The Apple Calendar app has a handy feature that allows you to create a Family Calendar where you, your spouse, kids, siblings, parents, or roommates can add events, make changes, and delete them.
The events one member creates automatically appear in the Calendar app of every other member, keeping them in the loop. Members are also notified when an event is modified or deleted in the Family Calendar so everyone can plan things accordingly.
Requirements
Ensure iCloud Calendar is activated. You can check this in Settings/System Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > See All > iCloud Calendar. On iOS, make sure Use on this iPhone/iPad is enabled, and on Mac, iCloud Calendar must be turned on.
Additionally, it helps to have all the devices updated to the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
Create a Family Calendar and add members to it
1) Open the Apple Calendar app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. We’re using an iPhone to demo these steps.
2) Tap Calendars from the bottom, followed by Add Calendar > Add Family Calendar from the next screen.
If you’re on a Mac, directly click File > New Family Calendar from the top menu bar.
3) Now, take a moment to personalize the calendar by adjusting these options:
Name: By default, the calendar name is set to ‘Family Calendar,’ but you can change it to something else.
Add Family Members: If you have added your family members to Apple’s Family Sharing, they will appear automatically under the Shared With section. By default, these members have the right to both view and edit the events in this shared calendar. However, you can tap a member’s name and turn off Allow Editing if you only want them to view the event and not add new events or edit existing ones.
Add Other People: If you have to add more people to this Family Calendar, tap Add Person, select them from your contacts or enter their Apple ID email address, and hit Add.
Get Notified of Changes: The Show Changes button is enabled by default and alerts you when events in this Family Calendar are added, edited, or deleted. You can start by leaving it on, but turn it off later down the road if the notifications get out of hand.
Color: Select a color for your Family Calendar. The event background and dots on the calendar will be of this chosen color.
Notifications: You can leave it on so that events on this calendar can send appropriate alerts. For instance, if there is an event for 1 PM, you can get notified of it based on that event setting.
4) With everything in order, hit the Done button to finish saving your Family Calendar.
Your existing family members and individuals you invite after tapping Add Person will get an alert on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac asking if they’d like to be a part of your Family Calendar.
They can swipe down or touch and hold the calendar event and tap Join. You will get a notification when this happens.
Alternatively, your family member can open the Calendar app and tap Inbox to accept your request. Remember that future updates for events will also show up in the Inbox section.
Add events to your Family Calendar
Now that you have built the calendar and people have accepted the invitation, it’s time to make use of it.
Open the Calendar app and tap the plus button to create an event with the appropriate name, time, and other details. Before hitting Add, tap the Calendar section and select your Family Calendar.
Shortly after, this event will appear in the Calendar app on all the members’ devices. They will also get an alert informing them of this (see the first image of this tutorial), and it will show up in their Calendar Inbox.
Edit and delete events
You can edit and delete events in the Family Calendar just like you do for a regular event in the Calendar app.
Remove a person from your Family Calendar
If you no longer want a person to be a part of your Family Calendar, you can either stop sharing the calendar with them or revoke their editing privileges and just let them view the family events.
1) Open the Calendar app and tap Calendars.
2) Tap the info button ⓘ next to the Family Calendar.
3) Select the added person.
4) Turn off Allow Editing, which will block that person from adding events and editing existing ones. They can still view the events added by other members.
5) Tap Stop Sharing > Remove to ensure this person is no longer a part of your Family Calendar.
The person may receive a notification saying, “This calendar is no longer shared,” when you remove them or delete the Family Calendar (explained below).
Add a new person to your Family Calendar
Repeat the above to edit your Family Calendar and tap Add Person. Now, enter their Apple ID email address and hit Add to send an invite. Remember to nudge them to accept your invitation.
Change notification settings for Family Calendar
You can go to the Calendar app, tap Calendars, hit the info button ⓘ next to the Family Calendar, and turn on or off the Show Changes and Event Alerts switches. What these do is already mentioned above.
Additionally, you can go to Settings > Notification > Calendar > Customize Notifications and turn off Shared Calendar Changes. After this, you won’t be notified when a member modifies your Family Calendar or other shared calendars.
Apple sends you email alerts when changes are made to events in your Family Calendar or other shared calendar.
If you do not want that, you can turn it off to keep your inbox clean. Go to Settings > Apple Account > iCloud > See All > iCloud Calendar and turn off Receive Email Updates.
Delete Family Calendar
Head to the Calendar app > Calendars and hit the info button ⓘ for Family Calendar. Now, tap Delete Calendar from the bottom to delete this shared calendar and all its added events.
You can always create a new Family Calendar and add people to it.
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