How to see Google Calendar and iCloud together
Two routes actually work: the iPhone app, which reads the phone's own Calendar, and a published iCal link from iCloud. Here is when each one is the right choice.
The short answer: through the iPhone app, or through an iCal link. The Madrugo app reads the Calendar and Reminders on the phone itself — where iCloud is already synced — and uploads them to your account, so they appear next to your Google data. If you would rather not install anything, iCloud lets you publish a calendar and gives you a webcal:// address you can add as a subscribed calendar. What does not exist is a direct OAuth-style iCloud connection: Apple does not offer one.
Route 1: the iPhone app
This is the one we recommend if you already carry an iPhone. On the phone, iCloud is not a separate service: it is what feeds the Calendar app. The Madrugo app asks the system for permission to read Calendar, Reminders and, optionally, Contacts, and syncs that to your account.
- Upsides: you see private calendars, not only the ones you publish; it refreshes by itself; and reminders arrive with their due dates.
- Limits: it needs the iPhone switched on with the app installed, because the phone is what reads. And it is a read-only mirror: what you edit on the web does not travel back to iCloud. Apple events and reminders are edited in the phone app.
Route 2: the calendar's iCal link
In iCloud you can make a calendar public and copy its link. That link is added as a subscribed calendar and re-read periodically.
- Upsides: nothing to install, and it works just as well for a club, a school or a team calendar, not only for iCloud.
- Limits: it only covers what you deliberately publish, and a public calendar is exactly that: anyone with the link can read it. Refreshes are also not instant. We go into detail in how to add a calendar by iCal link.
How to avoid seeing everything twice
The classic mistake is having your Google account also synced on the iPhone. The same event then arrives by two paths: straight from Google, and from the phone. That is why the Apple sync does not duplicate what already comes from Google and labels items by origin — but it is still worth checking in iPhone Settings which calendars are being read.
If you do see a duplicate, the cause is almost always one of three:
- The Google calendar is also subscribed as an iCal link.
- The same account is added twice under different addresses (aliases).
- A shared calendar shows up in two accounts you have both connected.
What we do not do
We do not read iCloud from the server with your Apple ID and password, and we do not ask for an app-specific password for the calendar. The only part of iCloud that does connect with credentials is mail, over IMAP, and that is a separate thing.
Once it is connected, the whole day shows up in the console, and you can keep reading in Apple and wearables.
Frequently asked questions
- Can iCloud be connected directly from the web?
- The calendar cannot: Apple offers no OAuth equivalent to Google's. It arrives through the iPhone app or through a published iCal link. iCloud Mail is a separate connection over IMAP.
- Can I edit an iCloud event from the browser?
- No. What comes from the iPhone is a read-only mirror. Apple events and reminders are created and edited in the phone app, which is what writes to the system Calendar.
- Does the iPhone have to be switched on?
- For the app route, yes: the phone is what reads the Calendar and syncs it. A calendar added by iCal link is fetched from the server and does not depend on the phone.