How to connect your calendars

Sign into your calendar from the Fred app, or paste a calendar link to connect your calendars.

Fred is a family assistant app for both parents. Fred thinks ahead, coordinates and flags when it’s about to go wrong. To do so, Fred needs access to digital calendars that are already in use. To connect your calendar, follow the steps below:

01 — Google

How to connect your Google calendar to Fred

You sign in once; Fred reads the calendars you tick and keeps them up to date.

  1. (01)In the Fred app, tap your initials at the top right, then Connected apps.
  2. (02)Tap Connect your calendar, then Google. Got a family calendar? Add it under Family calendars, so it shows for both parents. Your account needs the sharing level Make changes and manage sharing on that calendar; with a lower level you won’t be able to select it.
  3. (03)Sign in with the Google account that holds the calendar and allow access.
  4. (04)Tick the calendars Fred may read. For each one, choose what Fred sees: everything, or only when you are busy.
  5. (05)Save. The events show up in the app a few minutes later; Fred fetches them in the background.

02 — Outlook / Microsoft 365

How to connect your Outlook or Microsoft 365 calendar to Fred

Outlook.com, Hotmail and Microsoft 365 calendars connect by signing in with Microsoft, the same way as Google.

  1. (01)In the Fred app, tap your initials at the top right, then Connected apps.
  2. (02)Tap Connect your calendar, then Microsoft. Got a family calendar? Add it under Family calendars, so it shows for both parents.
  3. (03)Sign in with Microsoft once and allow access. With a work account, your IT admin may need to approve Fred first.
  4. (04)Tick the calendars Fred may read; your main calendar is already ticked. A Microsoft calendar is always read with its event details; there is no busy-only option for it. Save; no second sign-in is needed.
  • Can't sign in from Fred, for example because your work blocks other apps, or someone published an Outlook calendar to you? In Outlook on the web, open Settings › Calendar › Shared calendars, publish the calendar with Can view all details and copy its ICS link. Then add it the way the school and sports club section describes under Step 2. Anyone with that link can read the calendar; Outlook lets you unpublish it at any time. With a work account, your organisation may have turned publishing off or limited it to free/busy times.

03 — Apple

How to connect your Apple calendar to Fred

Apple has no sign-in that lets a service like Fred read your iCloud calendars, so an iCloud calendar comes in through its public link.

Step 1: Get the calendar link

  1. (01)On your iPhone, open the Calendar app and tap Calendars at the bottom of the screen.
  2. (02)Tap the ⓘ next to the calendar you want in Fred.
  3. (03)Turn on Public Calendar.
  4. (04)Tap Share Link, then Fred. Fred opens with the link filled in. Or copy the link and paste it into Fred by hand.

Step 2: Add link in Fred app

  1. (01)In the Fred app, tap your initials at the top right, then Connected apps.
  2. (02)Tap Connect your calendar, then ICS calendar feed, and paste the link.
  3. (03)Fred reads the link and suggests the calendar's own name. Keep it or change it.
  4. (04)Choose whose calendar it is: Mine or The family's. A school or club calendar goes under The family's, so both parents see it and it lands in the briefs. Tap Add calendar.
  • This works for iCloud calendars you own. A calendar stored On My iPhone, or one someone else shared with you, has no public link. A Google or Outlook calendar on your iPhone connects by signing in, as described above.
  • Anyone who has a public calendar's link can see its events. Share it only with Fred and people you trust.

04 — School & sports club

How to add your school or sports club calendar to Fred

Most school, childcare and club apps can give you a calendar link. Look for Agenda koppelen, Abonneren, iCal or ICS. The link is a long address starting with https:// or webcal://, personal to you, and the calendar keeps updating itself. An export or a downloaded .ics file is a one-off copy; Fred cannot keep that in sync.

Step 1: Find calendar link

In the school or club app, find the calendar link and copy it. You can find the link here:

Parro

  1. (01)In Parro, open Instellingen › Agenda koppelen and tap Aan de slag.
  2. (02)Tap the link to copy it. The link is tied to your Parro account and covers your children's groups.
  3. (03)Paste it into Fred.

Social Schools

  1. (01)Open Social Schools on the web, go to Agenda and click Abonneren at the top right. Click the link to copy it.
  2. (02)On Android you can do this in the app as well: Agenda › Opties (top right) › Abonneer, then copy the link. On iPhone, Abonneer adds the calendar straight to your phone without showing the link, so use the web there.
  3. (03)Paste it into Fred.

Voetbal.nl (Sportlink)

  1. (01)In the Voetbal.nl app, open your own programme (club members only) or the team's programme and tap the calendar icon with the arrows at the top right.
  2. (02)Buy the calendar link. There is a small cost, and each team needs its own link, bought again every season.
  3. (03)The iCal link arrives by email; it starts with https://data.sportlink.com/. Copy it and paste it into Fred.

Other apps and childcare

  1. (01)Look for a Subscribe, iCal or Calendar link option in the app or on the club's website.
  2. (02)If the app only offers Export or Download, Fred cannot follow it. Ask the school or club for a subscription link, or tell Fred the dates in the chat.

Step 2: Add link in Fred app

  1. (01)In the Fred app, tap your initials at the top right, then Connected apps.
  2. (02)Tap Connect your calendar, then ICS calendar feed, and paste the link.
  3. (03)Fred reads the link and suggests the calendar's own name. Keep it or change it.
  4. (04)Choose whose calendar it is: Mine or The family's. A school or club calendar goes under The family's, so both parents see it and it lands in the briefs. Tap Add calendar.

05 — Fred in your own calendar

How to see the Fred calendar in your own calendar app

Want Fred's plans in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar as well? Add the Fred calendar there as a subscription. It updates by itself, on your calendar app's schedule.

  1. (01)In the Fred app, tap your initials at the top right, then Connected apps › Shared calendars, and tap Copy link next to the Fred calendar.
  2. (02)Open your calendar app and choose to add a calendar by link. Google Calendar on a computer (the Google Calendar app can't do this): Other calendars › + › From URL. Apple Calendar on iPhone: Calendars › Add Calendar › Add Subscription Calendar, and choose your iCloud account so it shows on all your Apple devices. Outlook: Add calendar › Subscribe from web.
  3. (03)Paste the link. Fred's events show up in that app and stay up to date. Your calendar app decides how often it checks for changes: Outlook every few hours, Google sometimes only once a day.

Not working?

Fred says it isn’t a calendar link

A calendar link starts with webcal:// or https:// and points at a live feed. A downloaded .ics file or an export is a one-off copy, not a link. Go back to the app and copy its subscription link.

The calendar is in Fred, but the events don’t show yet

A newly connected calendar takes a few minutes. After that, Microsoft changes arrive within about 15 minutes, and a linked calendar updates on the schedule its publisher sets, between 15 minutes and a day.

I can’t change an event from a connected calendar

Events from a connected calendar are read-only in Fred. Change them where the calendar lives; Fred picks the change up on the next read.

The calendar I need isn’t in the Google list

Either your Google account has a lower sharing level on it than Make changes and manage sharing, or the other parent already connected it. The calendar’s owner can raise the level; if the owner is the other parent, they can connect it from their own app.

How do I stop sharing a calendar?

Under Connected apps › your row › Your calendars, tap Stop sharing on the calendar. A linked calendar stops at once. A shared calendar you made for someone else is removed with Delete under Shared calendars.

Not finding what you are looking for?

Email us and we’ll help you out. hello@fred.family

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