Calendar privacy

Share your availability without showing the contents of your calendar?

Connecting a calendar should not give your friends access to the titles, locations or people in your appointments. Here is the actual data journey and the specific nuance for iCloud.

The short answer

For availability searches, MeetingFriends uses the time ranges and free/busy status needed for the calculation. Titles, locations, attendees and descriptions from existing events are neither used nor retained. With iCloud via CalDAV, however, complete events may temporarily pass through the server. Detailed search results are kept for no more than 24 hours, or until the start of the first suggested time slot if that comes sooner.

In short

Connecting a calendar is optional; a manual poll works without one.
Google, Outlook and iCloud do not provide their data in the same way.
Appointment details are not shown to other group members.
A connection can be revoked from MeetingFriends or from the provider account.

The data journey in three layers

01
What the provider sends
Google provides free/busy time ranges; Outlook provides start, end and status. iCloud via CalDAV may temporarily send more complete event data.
02
What MeetingFriends uses
The calculation uses time periods and availability status. Other fields from an existing event are not used to find a time slot and are not retained as event content.
03
What the search returns and retains
The authorised person running the search can see how many members are available, which member has a conflict and their busy time range, but never the appointment contents. This detailed result is deleted within 24 hours at the latest.

Google returns free/busy data; MeetingFriends limits the fields requested from Outlook

For the calculation, Google Calendar exposes free/busy time ranges through the permission designed for that purpose. Microsoft Outlook provides start and end times along with a useful availability status.

MeetingFriends does not request or use the title, location, attendees, description or attachments from your Google or Outlook events for this search.

Useful sources

The iCloud nuance: passing through is not the same as being used

The CalDAV protocol used for iCloud may send complete events to the server. It would therefore be inaccurate to say that only free/busy data passes through.

MeetingFriends temporarily extracts the times and status it needs, then neither uses nor retains the titles, locations, attendees, descriptions or attachments received for the availability calculation. This distinction is documented explicitly in the privacy policy.

Useful sources

Sharing availability does not mean exposing your calendar

The group does not get access to a view of your calendar. The authorised person running the search can see compatible time slots, the number of members available and, when there is a conflict, which member is busy during which time range.

They never see why you are busy, who you are with, where you are going or the event name. The search does not cover members who have not connected their calendar or who have withdrawn their permission.

Your friends need to know whether a time can work, not what is in your Tuesday afternoon.

Why the result is kept for a few hours

A search may be interrupted just after using a credit. MeetingFriends then temporarily retains its detailed result so it can return exactly the same answer without contacting the providers again or charging twice.

Per-member conflicts and their busy periods are deleted no later than 24 hours after the search, or sooner when the first suggested time slot begins. A minimal technical record may remain afterwards with the suggested times and credit tracking, without any event title, location, description, attendee or attachment.

Useful sources

MeetingFriends privacy policy (available in French)

You can always choose the manual poll

Someone who does not use an electronic calendar, or simply does not want to connect one, can take part in the group’s manual polls.

The two flows remain separate: the calendar never casts an automatic vote in a poll. Disconnecting it prevents future group availability searches from using that calendar.

MeetingFriends privacy

Use only what is needed to find a date

The group availability search is limited to members who have connected a calendar and allowed their availability to be shared. MeetingFriends compares the useful information, then displays time slots together with the number of people available.

Connecting a calendar remains optional. The manual poll is still available without access to Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud/Apple.

No title, location or attendee shown to the group
No event content retained in the result
Consent required before including a calendar
Detailed results deleted within 24 hours at most

What an availability search cannot know

A calendar only reflects what has been entered in it and correctly marked as busy. A commitment missing from the calendar may make a time slot appear free when it is not.

The result represents only connected members who have given their consent. Check the number of people available and ask for confirmation before fixing the outing.

Not every provider exposes data through the same protocol.
Revoking access does not delete a MeetingFriends event that you previously chose to add to your calendar.

Frequently asked questions about calendar privacy

Can my friends see the titles of my appointments?

No. The authorised person running the search can see that you have a conflict during a time range, but never the appointment title, location, attendees, description or attachments.

Does MeetingFriends receive exactly the same data from Google, Outlook and iCloud?

No. Google and Outlook provide limited availability data. iCloud via CalDAV may temporarily send a more complete event; MeetingFriends neither uses nor retains the other fields for the calculation.

Can I use MeetingFriends without connecting my calendar?

Yes. You can take part in manual polls without a connected calendar. You simply will not be included in a group availability search until you have connected a calendar and given your consent.

How do I remove access to my calendar?

You can disconnect the calendar in the MeetingFriends settings or revoke the permission from your Google, Microsoft or Apple account. Future searches must then stop using that source.

How long is a search result retained?

Per-member details and busy time ranges are deleted no later than 24 hours after the search, or sooner when the first suggested time slot begins. A minimal technical record may remain without any appointment content.