Google Workspace now deletes shared calendars along with their owner

Google Workspace now deletes shared calendars along with their owner

5 October 2026: Google has changed what happens to a Workspace user's secondary calendars when the account goes. They are now deleted with the account, and suspended when it is suspended, the same as the user's primary calendar. Google announced the change for non-personal Workspace accounts; the rollout started on 5 October and may take more than 15 days to reach every domain, on both Rapid and Scheduled Release.

Not yet independently verified. Single source: Google's own Workspace Updates post. We will add independent confirmation when we find it. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Secondary calendars are the ones people create beyond their own: an on-call rota, a release calendar, a room booking calendar set up by hand. Many organisations have calendars like these that were created years ago by someone who has since left, and they kept working because deleting the creator left them in place. Google's reasoning is that a calendar needs a valid owner, because the owner decides which organisational settings and policies apply to its data.

The risk sits in ordinary offboarding. The next leaver whose account is deleted takes their calendars with them, for everyone subscribed. Suspension matters too: organisations that suspend accounts during long leave or an investigation will find the team's shared calendars unavailable until the account is restored.

Admins can transfer secondary calendars in the Admin console or through the Calendar API, and users can transfer their own in Calendar settings. Moving shared calendars to a team or service account that will never be offboarded avoids the problem for good. Leaver checklists that already transfer Drive files and mail now need a calendar step, including in identity tools that delete accounts automatically.

Sources

• Google Workspace Updates: Secondary calendars will now follow the lifecycle of their owner, 5 October 2026