Don't be like DOGE, keep your online calendar private
BlackTechLogy: If you have a Gmail account, is your Google calendar set to private?
There are some things I know for sure and don’t hesitate to answer: 1. I never want to work in an office where I’m forced to have an IKEA bed, never leave the office and have to hide my identity. 2. I would prefer to not have a boss who thinks sleeping on the roof of his office building or a tent is healthy for a work-life balance because he will then think I want to be a Girl Scout again right along with him.
But then there are things I had no idea about but thought were happening all along, mainly that my Gmail calendar has and always will be private. It turns out for one DOGE bro, that was not the case. Business Insider reports that a “DOGE staffer now walking the halls at NASA maintained a publicly accessible Google Calendar — revealing his connections to the Trump administration initiative, the names of fellow DOGE staffers, and scheduled interviews at companies including Tesla, Palantir, and Anduril.”
Not only was his account public — even after he shut down his LinkedIn — but on January 6 (of all days), the calendar included a 15-minute event for “DOGE Recruiting."
And my first thought was, “Wait, Google calendars aren’t private already?” As often as I looked at that “default visibility” tab, I just assumed it was always on private. If you are unsure of whether your own Gmail calendar is public or private, follow these steps.
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Making Your Google Calendar Private
Open Google Calendar.
On the left side of your screen, search for the "My calendars" section.
Hover over the calendar you want to make private, click the three dots (⁝), and select "Settings and sharing."
Under "Access permissions for events," uncheck the box that says "Make available to public."
If you decide you want to share your calendar with specific individuals, choose “Shared with,” then "Share with specific people.” Then, type the email address of the person you want to share your calendar with. You can also choose whether they can just see when you’re busy, have the option of making changes to your events and/or share your events.
Making Individual Events Private (for public Google calendars)
In your calendar, open the event you want to make private.
Use the pencil image to “Edit the event.”
Under "Default visibility," select "Private."
Click "Save" to apply the changes.
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