iCloud calendar sync for Android, Google and Outlook

Why iCloud is different

Google and Microsoft let you connect a calendar app by signing in and clicking Allow. Apple doesn't. iCloud Calendar is reached through CalDAV, an open calendar standard, and outside apps sign in with an app-specific password: a separate password Apple generates for one app, which you can revoke on its own.

Apple also doesn't notify outside apps when an event changes. So instead of waiting for a notification, AllMyMeetings checks iCloud for changes every five minutes. In practice:

• An event added on your iPhone appears on your Google or Outlook calendar within about five minutes.
• An event added in Google or Outlook is copied to iCloud as soon as AllMyMeetings hears about it, usually within seconds.

Show iCloud on Android via Google Calendar

Apple doesn't make a calendar app for Android, and Android's calendar apps don't connect to iCloud on their own. You have three options:

• A CalDAV app. Third-party apps can add iCloud as a CalDAV account on Android with an app-specific password. It works, but it's one more app to keep running, and it only helps on that phone.
• A subscription link. Publish the iCloud calendar publicly and subscribe to it in Google Calendar. It's read-only, refreshes every few hours at best, and anyone with the link can read it. The Apple to Google guide covers the steps and the privacy catch.
• Sync iCloud into Google Calendar. Every Android phone already shows Google Calendar. Copy your iCloud events into it, and they appear on the phone with no extra app, and on the web and anywhere else you use Google.

With AllMyMeetings, pick Full Details to see the real event titles on Android, or Free/Busy if the Google calendar is a work calendar and you only want the time blocked. Two-way sync on Pro also sends events you create on Android back to iCloud, so your family still sees them on their iPhones.

Setup with an app-specific password

You need two-factor authentication on your Apple Account, which is on by default for most accounts.

1. Create the app-specific password at Apple:

1. Go to account.apple.com and sign in.
2. Under Sign-In and Security, choose App-Specific Passwords.
3. Generate a new password and label it "AllMyMeetings". Apple shows it once, so copy it now.

Illustration of account.apple.com. The labels match Apple's.

2. Connect iCloud in AllMyMeetings:

1. Open Calendar Accounts and choose iCloud.
2. Enter the email address of your Apple Account and paste the app-specific password. Leave CalDAV URL empty; it's only for unusual setups.
3. Select Connect, then turn on the iCloud calendars you want to sync.

3. Create a sync pair. Choose the iCloud calendar and your Google or Outlook calendar, one-way or two-way, and a mode: Full Details, Free/Busy or Private. The first sync starts right away.

The free plan includes two calendar accounts and one one-way sync in Free/Busy mode, for example iCloud events blocking time on your work calendar. Two-way sync, Full Details and more pairs are on Pro at $5 a month. For step-by-step guides with each provider, see Apple Calendar to Google and iCloud with Outlook.

Revoking access at Apple

You can cut AllMyMeetings off from iCloud at any time, from either side:

• At Apple: sign in at account.apple.com, open Sign-In and Security, then App-Specific Passwords, and remove the "AllMyMeetings" password. It stops working immediately.
• In AllMyMeetings: disconnect the iCloud account. That deletes the stored password and removes the copies of iCloud events from your other calendars.

Changing your Apple Account password also revokes every app-specific password at once. If you do that, create a new one and reconnect. Our security page lists exactly what we store.