How Do I Export My Calendar to Google or Apple?
Famlo can hand your calendar app a private link that keeps it in step automatically. Register for something and it turns up in your calendar app on its own — no re-downloading and no second file. This guide covers turning that link on, adding it to Google, Apple or Outlook, and what the link exposes.
Quick Answer
Open Calendar, click Subscribe, then click Enable calendar feed. Your private link appears. Copy it and add it to your calendar app as a subscription, or click Add to calendar to hand it straight to your default app.
Before you start
The feed is off until you turn it on. There is no link waiting for you — Enable calendar feed is what creates one.
The calendar holds what you have booked, and nothing else. Activities you saved, activities from organizations you follow, and activities you were merely browsing do not appear. Saved ones live under Saved & watchlist.
A subscription is not an export. It is a live link, not a file. If you only want one activity in your calendar app, use the .ics download instead — see Adding one activity below.
Step 1: Turn the feed on and copy your link
- Log in to Famlo.
- Open Calendar from the navigation.
- Click Subscribe.
- Click Enable calendar feed.
- Your private link appears. Click it to copy it, or click Add to calendar to hand it straight to your default calendar app.
The panel's Setup instructions carry the same three recipes as the steps below.
Know what the link exposes
:::danger The link is the only thing protecting your family's schedule Anyone who has the link can read your family's calendar without signing in to anything. There is no password on it.
Two things make that worth taking seriously:
- Each entry names the children you booked in. The event description carries a line reading "For:" followed by their names. Whoever holds the link learns which of your children is where, and when.
- The feed reaches back ninety days as well as forward. It is not only your upcoming schedule; it is a three-month history of where your family has been.
Treat it like a password. Do not post it, do not put it in a shared document, and do not send it to the organizers of anything. If it does get out, Regenerate link on the same panel kills it instantly. :::
Famlo says the same thing on the panel: anyone with this link can see your calendar, so do not share it, and regenerate it if it leaks.
Step 2: Add to Google Calendar
On Desktop:
- Open Google Calendar
- In the left sidebar, find Other calendars
- Click the + button next to it
- Select From URL
- Paste your Famlo calendar URL
- Click Add calendar
- Your events will appear within a few minutes
On Mobile (Google Calendar App):
- Open the Google Calendar app
- Tap the hamburger menu (three lines)
- Tap Settings (gear icon)
- Tap Add calendar
- Select From URL or Subscribe to calendar
- Paste your subscription URL
- Tap Add or Subscribe
Google Calendar typically syncs subscribed calendars every 12 to 24 hours. You cannot force a refresh, but events do arrive.
Step 3: Add to Apple Calendar (iPhone/iPad/Mac)
On iPhone or iPad:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down and tap Calendar
- Tap Accounts
- Tap Add Account
- Select Other
- Tap Add Subscribed Calendar
- Paste your Famlo calendar URL
- Tap Next, then Save
On Mac:
- Open the Calendar app
- Click File in the menu bar
- Select New Calendar Subscription...
- Paste your subscription URL
- Click Subscribe
- Choose your sync preferences:
- Location: iCloud (syncs to all devices) or On My Mac
- Auto-refresh: Every 15 minutes, hour, day, or week
- Click OK
Step 4: Add to Microsoft Outlook
Outlook Desktop:
- Open Outlook
- Go to Calendar view
- Right-click My Calendars in the sidebar
- Select Add Calendar > From Internet...
- Paste your subscription URL
- Click OK
- Name the calendar "Famlo"
- Click Yes to subscribe
Outlook Web (outlook.com):
- Go to Outlook Calendar
- Click Add calendar in the left sidebar
- Select Subscribe from web
- Paste your subscription URL
- Name the calendar and choose a color
- Click Import
Step 5: Add to other calendar apps
Most calendar apps support iCal/ICS subscriptions. Look for options like:
- "Add calendar from URL"
- "Subscribe to calendar"
- "Add internet calendar"
- "Import ICS/iCal"
The general process:
- Find the calendar subscription feature
- Paste your Famlo URL
- Save or subscribe
- Wait for the initial sync to complete
Adding just one activity
For a single booking, use the .ics download rather than the subscription.
- On the activity page, under the RSVP area, click Add to calendar.
- In List view on your Famlo calendar, each row has an Add to calendar button at the right-hand end.
That downloads one file. It is a snapshot: if the organizer later moves the activity, your copy does not update. For that, subscribe.
Managing your subscription
Regenerating the link
Regenerate link issues a new link and kills the old one instantly. Apps subscribed to the old link stop updating until you paste in the new one, so plan to re-add it everywhere you use it.
Turning the feed off
Turn off feed switches the whole thing off. The link stops working and subscribed apps stop updating. You can enable it again later, which mints a fresh link.
Both controls live on the calendar's own Subscribe panel. There is nothing to configure in your account settings.
Removing the calendar from an app
- Find the Famlo calendar in your app
- Right-click and select "Unsubscribe" or "Delete"
- Confirm the removal
That removes it from that app only. The feed itself stays on until you turn it off in Famlo.
Changing its colour
Most calendar apps let you recolour a subscribed calendar. Find the Famlo calendar in the sidebar, right-click or press and hold, and choose "Color" or "Edit".
How often it updates
Your calendar app decides. Famlo publishes the feed; the app chooses how often to read it, and some check only a few times a day.
That is why a booking you made ten minutes ago may not be on your phone yet. It is your app's schedule, not Famlo's. Apple Calendar lets you shorten the interval in its preferences; Google does not.
:::note The subscription is read-only You cannot add, edit or delete a Famlo booking from your calendar app. Everything happens on Famlo. Cancelling is done on the activity page, and the change reaches your app on its next refresh. :::
Troubleshooting
Events are not appearing. Wait for the app's first sync, which can take up to a day on Google. Then check the link was copied completely, and that the calendar is ticked and visible in your app.
The link stopped working. Either it was regenerated or the feed was turned off. Open Subscribe on your calendar to see which, then copy the current link or click Enable calendar feed to start a new one.
I cannot find Regenerate link in my account settings. It is not there. Regenerate link and Turn off feed both live on the Subscribe panel on your calendar.
Times look wrong. Everything renders in your device's timezone. Check your device, and check your calendar app's own timezone setting.
I am seeing duplicates. You probably subscribed twice, or subscribed and also downloaded .ics files for the same activities. Remove the extra calendar.
Something I saved is missing. Saving is not booking. Only bookings reach the feed.
An activity I registered for is not in the feed. Check your Famlo calendar first, since the feed publishes what is there. If the booking is missing from the calendar too, open the activity and check the booking's status.
Something is still showing after I cancelled. Your calendar app refreshes on its own schedule, so give it time. Compare against your Famlo calendar to see what the feed is actually publishing.
Related Articles
- Your calendar - views, filters, and the Subscribe panel in full
- Registering and checking out - how bookings get onto your calendar
- Saved activities and alerts - what saving does, and why it is not on your calendar
- Notification settings - reminders before an activity starts