How to Block Client Calendar Time from Your Own Calendar
19 October 2026
You can block client calendar time from your own calendar without exposing your personal appointment details. You manage two calendars across separate organizations. When a client books you through their internal system, they must see that you are unavailable.
You block client calendar time from your own calendar by writing real native events directly to the client account. The client Microsoft 365 tenant reads the slot as Busy. Coworkers see an opaque hold in Outlook Scheduling Assistant. Personal event details remain private on your consultant calendar while your client availability stays accurate.
- Sign in to your OnlyBusy account. Sign in to your OnlyBusy account using your primary identity. As of 3 October 2026, OnlyBusy lists Free at $0 with up to 2 calendars and no scheduling links, Standard at $6 a month or $50 a year with up to 4 calendars and 4 scheduling links, and Premium at $12 a month or $99 a year with unlimited calendars and scheduling links. Teams is arranged by email at privacy@onlybusy.com.
- Connect your primary consultant calendar. Select your source calendar provider and authenticate your account. This is your consulting calendar where your real client meetings and personal obligations live. Grant read access so the tool detects when an hour is booked.
- Connect the client tenant calendar. Authenticate your client tenant account through Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Complete the authentication flow using your assigned client credentials. This calendar acts as the target where blocking events will appear.
- Configure privacy and title masking. Select the option to hide all original event titles, descriptions, and guest names. Set the target title to Busy or leave it empty. Ensure the target event status is set to Busy rather than Free or Tentative.
- Create a test hold and verify. Add a one hour hold on your primary calendar. Open your client calendar in a separate browser window and confirm a matching Busy hold appears. Check Outlook Scheduling Assistant from another internal client account to ensure the hour shows as unavailable.
Outcome of Blocking Client Calendar Time
Every event on your primary consultant calendar reserves the same slot as a private Busy hold on your client calendar. Your client colleagues never see the title or location of your original meeting. They only see that you are unavailable during that period.
Internal schedulers query the client database directly. Subscribed calendar links do not register in that database. A native event on the client exchange ensures your availability reflects your actual schedule.
Steps to Connect and Protect Your Hours
You must connect your source calendar to the client target calendar using direct calendar integration. This integration places placeholder events on the destination calendar whenever you add an entry to your personal schedule.
Follow these steps to establish the connection and verify your free/busy state. Each step ensures that your client sees an accurate schedule while your private client data stays protected.
What the Scheduler Shows When the Steps Are Done
Outlook Scheduling Assistant shows a solid Busy bar across your reserved hours. The person viewing your client calendar sees no text inside the block. The event title reads as Busy or remains entirely blank depending on client tenant defaults.
Google Find a time shows the exact same behavior if your client works on Google Workspace. The internal user opens your schedule next to theirs. The system tells them the slot is taken. It prevents double booking before an invitation goes out.
The client tenant evaluates your availability locally. Because a native calendar entry exists, the availability calculation requires no external lookup. The reservation appears instantly to anyone inside the client organization.
What to Do When User Consent Is Blocked
A Microsoft 365 tenant often blocks users from granting consent to third-party applications. If your client security team restricts application access, you will see an administrator approval screen during connection. You cannot bypass this policy on your own.
Ask the client tenant administrator to approve the calendar synchronization application for your user account. Provide the specific permission scopes requested by the software. The application only requires read access to your source calendar and write access to create events on your client calendar.
Request an application review if the administrator refuses initial consent. Explain that the tool only posts opaque Busy markers to prevent double bookings. If policy forbids any outside integrations, you must manually mirror holds between your two calendars.
Questions
Will my client see the original meeting titles from my personal calendar?
No. The integration strips away the event title, description, and attendee list before writing to the client tenant. Your client coworkers only see that you are Busy.
Does this work if my client uses Outlook and I use Google Calendar?
Yes. The connection functions across providers by syncing between Google Calendar and the client Microsoft 365 tenant. The client receives a native Outlook event.
Why can I not simply share an ICS subscription link with my client?
Subscribed web calendars do not publish free/busy status to internal directory schedulers. Outlook Scheduling Assistant ignores subscribed internet calendars and still lists you as free.
What happens if I delete an event on my primary calendar?
The corresponding Busy event on your client calendar is removed automatically. Your client calendar clears that hour so you become available for client scheduling again.