AvailabilityCal is a tool for managing who you share you calendar with, whilst not showing them any details of what you're doing, just when you're free. You can currently sync your Google Calendars with AvailabilityCal, and soon, Microsoft Calendars too (please create an account using your email address to be notified of when this is live).
Right now, there are no limits to how many calendars you can sync with AvailabilityCal.
You can also build a list of Contacts who have shared their calendars with you so you can view when you're all available. More details on this are below.
AvailabilityCal is built and run by 18a Productions Ltd. - a web strategy and development agency based in Bristol, England.
Is AvailabilityCal free?
At the moment it's completely and totally free. In the future we may need to introduce fees to new users for advanced features. It is our aim to always keep a free tier, and to not charge early adopters who sign up soon after launch.
How do I share my availability?
No matter how many calendars you sync in AvailabilityCal, they all build one view of your availability which you can view on your dashboard. This means you can include your work calendar and your personal one so that your trip to the dentist is blocked out of your availability as well as a work meeting. When you view your own availability on your dashboard, you'll see the details of what each item on your calendar is - e.g. the Dentist or a new client call - but when you share your availability these details don't show.
You can then share your calendar in 2 ways:
1. Create an easy to remember short link that always works for anyone you send it to. This could be something like https://availabilitycal.com/your-name
You can create that in your profile.
Note: If you share a short link like this, and then decide you don't want someone you shared it with to know your availability, you'll have to change your link in order to stop that person looking at your calendar again. And that'd mean updating anyone else you've sent it to with the new link. You should also click "Who can see your calendar?" from the bottom of your dashboard and remove yourself from people's Contacts if anyone has added you who you don't want to see your availability anymore.
OR
2. Create secure links as and when you want to share your availability, which stop working after a set amount of time (you choose when). You can generate these links here and give them a name so you remember who you sent which one to.
Anyone with one of these secure links can view your calendar (so you can send the same secure link to more than 1 person), but once they've expired they won't work anymore.
Note: If someone adds you to their contacts, even once the link you gave them has expired, you'll still be in their contacts. You can then click "Who can see your calendar?" from the bottom of your dashboard and revoke people's access from there. They could still add you again however if they have your link and it's not yet expired. That's why it's best, if you think you might want to revoke access, to just share secure links with short expiry times.
What is the Contacts feature and how do I use it?
Anyone who you share a calendar with has the option to create an account with AvailabiliyCal and add you to their Contacts. They can then see your name on the left hand side of their Dashboard and toggle your calendar on and off, so that your availability appears on their dashboard, overlaid with their own synced calendars, allowing them to see when you're both free.
You can remove yourself from someone's contacts by clicking the "Who can see your calendar?" link from the bottom of your dashboard - but if they've still got access to your calendar, via a public easy short link or an unexpired secure link, they could just add you again.
Is AvailabilityCal just for business use?
No, you can use it for planning your family get togethers and weekends away with friends just as much as you can use it for works calls and meetings.
How do I sync more calendars or change the calendars I've got synced?
Once logged in, go to the menu in the top right and click Calendar Settings - from here you can click to add more calendars.
My Dashboard (and subsequently my shared calendar) view is big and long but I'm only interested in the working hours of the day - can I change how my Dashbaord looks?
Yes - once logged in, go to the menu in the top right and click Calendar Settings and scroll down to "Dashboard settings". Here you can pick what hours of the day show on your Dashboard.
How can I automatically block out the hours I don't work?
Once logged in, go to the menu in the top right and click Calendar Settings and scroll down to Availability. From there you can select which days and times you work. Anything outside of these times will be greyed out on your calendar view.
Why do you get the details of my calendar events from Google if you don't show them to people I share my links with?
Because you can see your details, when you're planning a meeting you might know that you can move something to make space for something new.
How do I delete my account?
Log into AvailabilityCal, visit "Your Profile" from the menu, and scroll down to the big red delete button. We'll be sorry to see you go!