How to Cancel a Google Calendar Event

Written by Tanja Google Workplace

- 4 min read

Are you in a desperate need to cancel an event due to something that just came up?

We are living in this busy world where at most times we feel overbooked by events and it is great to have tools to help us organize our schedules when life gets busy.

So, if you are one of those using Google Calendar for scheduling your events, it is useful to know that it offers many options that can assist you in your scheduling. One of these features allows you to cancel events, delete goals and even remove tasks if you want to.

How to cancel a Google Calendar event from the desktop version

The cancellation of a Google Calendar event is very straightforward and it is the same whether you are using a Mac, Windows, Linux or Chromebook computer.

So, take these steps if you want to cancel an event on your Google Calendar using your computer.

  1. First, open your preferred web browser and go to the official Google Calendar website.
  2. Sign in to your account, if you haven’t done that already.
  3. Once the calendar opens, click on the event that you want to cancel.
  4. Next, on the event window that opens, at the top, click on the trash icon to Delete Event.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar will ask you if you want to send a cancellation notification email to your event guest. This is totally optional, but if you want to do it, write a message in the box that appears and click on 'Send'. On the contrary, click 'Don’t Send'.

How to cancel/delete a Google Calendar event from mobile

The steps to cancel a Google Calendar event from a mobile device are quite similar to the desktop version. Follow our guidelines if you want to try this out using your mobile phone.

  1. First, navigate to the Google Calendar on your phone.
  2. Then, tap on the event that you want to cancel.
  3. Next, tap on the three dots located in the top right section of the window.
  4. From there, choose and tap on 'Delete' and again tap on 'Delete event'.

Your Google Calendar will do its job immediately by sending a cancellation notification email to the guests that need to be informed.

Can I permanently delete a Google Calendar event?

You can do this for sure, and you should also know that after you delete it, that event will stay in the trash for the next thirty days in case you want to restore it.

Quick Note: Users can only access the trash option from the desktop version. Also, those who have the option Make changes to events or Make changes AND manage sharing for their calendar, are able to delete and restore events from the trash.

Check out these steps to learn how you can permanently delete an event from your Google Calendar:

  1. Go to your Google Calendar on your computer.
  2. Next, on the right top side of the toolbar, click on the gear icon to open the Calendar’s settings.
  3. Then, from the options, choose 'Trash' and click on a particular event that you want to delete.
  4. Now that you selected the event/s that you want to delete, click on the trash icon to delete.

If you want to delete all events, choose the option 'Empty trash' that is in the top right corner of your screen and just click on 'Empty'.

Important Note: Only the creator of the Google Calendar event has the authority to cancel an event for all guests. After deleting an event, it may still remain on backup copies of the calendar.

Can I restore deleted events in my Google Calendar?

Certainly! You can do this in just a few steps and this is what you’ll need to do:

  1. Go to your Google Calendar as usual.
  2. Then, click on the gear icon to open the Calendar’s settings.
  3. Once you are there, choose 'Trash' and choose an event that you want to restore.
  4. To restore it, click on the black arrow icon and if you want to restore more events, place a checkmark on all the events that you want to restore.

Also, if you see yourself as an organized person, you would definitely benefit from the use of Google sheets special characters, so why not explore more on how to use them properly from now on?!