Google Calendar Integration

Overview

The Google Calendar integration connects Friender Assess to your Google Workspace via OAuth 2.0, requesting read-only access to calendar event metadata. Our observation agents analyze meeting patterns — frequency, duration, attendee counts, and scheduling distribution — to understand how your organization allocates time and where meeting overhead may be impacting productivity.

Friender never reads meeting titles, descriptions, or agenda content. We collect only structural metadata: event timestamps, duration, attendee count, recurrence patterns, and organizer identity. This is sufficient to identify meeting load imbalances, scheduling bottlenecks, and collaboration patterns without exposing sensitive meeting topics.

Prerequisites

• Google Workspace admin approval — if your organization uses Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), a Workspace Admin must approve the Friender Assess OAuth app before individual users can authorize access. This is configured in the Google Admin Console under Security > API controls
• A Friender Assess account with an active assessment engagement
• The authorizing user must have a Google Workspace account (personal Gmail accounts are not supported for organizational assessments)
• If your organization uses domain-wide delegation policies, ensure the Friender Assess OAuth client ID is in the allowed list

Setup Steps

Step 1: Navigate to the Integrations Dashboard

From your Friender Assess dashboard, open the left sidebar and click Integrations. Locate the Google Calendar card in the Scheduling section.

Step 2: Click "Connect Google Calendar"

Click the Connect Google Calendar button. This initiates the Google OAuth 2.0 consent flow and redirects you to Google's account picker and consent screen.

Step 3: Authorize the Google OAuth Connection

On Google's consent screen, select the Google Workspace account you want to connect and review the requested permissions. Click Allow to grant access. Friender requests the following OAuth scope:

• calendar.readonly — read calendar events and their metadata (timestamps, duration, attendee count, recurrence rules). This scope grants read access to all calendars the authorizing user can view, but Friender only collects the metadata fields listed in the "What Data Is Collected" section below

This scope is strictly read-only. Friender cannot create, edit, or delete calendar events, modify calendar settings, or access Google Drive, Gmail, or other Google services.

Step 4: Select Calendars

After authorization, you'll be redirected back to the Friender dashboard to select which calendars to include in the assessment:

• Primary calendars only — recommended starting point; analyzes the main work calendar for each connected user
• All calendars — includes shared team calendars, resource calendars (conference rooms), and secondary calendars
• Specific calendars — manually select which calendars to include or exclude

For the most accurate meeting load analysis, include primary calendars and shared team calendars. Exclude personal or out-of-scope calendars that don't reflect work activity.

Step 5: Confirm & Start Collection

Review your calendar selections and click Confirm. The initial import pulls event metadata from the past 90 days. For most organizations, this completes within 30-60 minutes. Real-time collection begins immediately after the backfill completes, capturing new events as they are created.

What Data Is Collected

The Google Calendar integration collects event structure metadata. Here is a complete list of data points:

• Meeting frequency — number of events per day, week, and month, segmented by calendar and organizer
• Duration patterns — event start time, end time, and total duration; distribution of 15-minute, 30-minute, 60-minute, and longer meetings
• Attendee counts — number of attendees per event, response status distribution (accepted, declined, tentative), and average attendee count by meeting type
• Scheduling patterns — distribution of meetings by time of day, day of week, and week of month; back-to-back meeting frequency; and free time block analysis
• Recurrence data — recurring vs. one-off meeting ratios, recurrence rule types (daily, weekly, biweekly), and recurring meeting attendee consistency
• Organizer patterns — who schedules the most meetings, organizer-to-attendee ratios, and cross-team meeting coordination

The following data is never collected:

• Meeting titles or event names
• Event descriptions, agendas, or notes
• Attached documents or links
• Video conferencing URLs (Zoom, Meet, Teams links)
• Attendee email addresses (only hashed identifiers for counting)
• Location or room booking details

Permissions Required

The Google Calendar integration requires a single OAuth scope:

Scope                   Purpose
calendar.readonly       Read event metadata (times, duration, attendee counts)

This scope is read-only and classified as "restricted" by Google. Friender's OAuth app has completed Google's security assessment and verification process required for restricted scopes. You can revoke access at any time from Google Account > Security > Third-party apps with account access > Friender Assess. Revoking access immediately stops all data collection.

Troubleshooting

Google Workspace Admin Approval Required

If you see an "app not verified" or "admin approval required" screen during the OAuth flow, your Google Workspace organization restricts third-party app access. A Workspace Admin must approve the Friender Assess app from the Google Admin Console > Security > API controls > App access control page. Add the Friender Assess OAuth client ID to the trusted apps list with the calendar.readonly scope.

OAuth Consent Screen Shows "Unverified App"

Friender's Google OAuth app is verified and approved. If you still see an "unverified app" warning, you may be in a testing environment or your organization's Workspace Admin has not yet approved the app. Click "Advanced" and then "Go to Friender Assess" to proceed, or contact your Workspace Admin to add the app to the approved list.

No Calendars Appear After Connection

If no calendars are listed after authorization, the authorizing user's account may not have any calendars visible, or the OAuth token may have been issued without the calendar.readonly scope. Disconnect and reconnect the integration, ensuring you grant all requested permissions during the consent flow.

Missing Events or Incomplete Data

Google Calendar API rate limits are generous (approximately 10,000 requests per 100 seconds per user), so rate limiting is rarely an issue. If events appear to be missing, check that the calendar containing those events was included in your calendar selection. Shared calendars must be explicitly included — events on shared calendars are not automatically captured through primary calendar access.

Multiple Google Workspace Domains

If your organization uses multiple Google Workspace domains (e.g., through domain aliases or acquisitions), each domain requires a separate OAuth authorization. Repeat the connection process for each domain you want to include in the assessment.

Need help? Return to the Integration Setup overview or contact us at hello@joinfriender.com.