How to Get a Public iCloud Calendar Link (.ics)

Making an iCloud calendar public gives you a shareable link that anyone can subscribe to in their own calendar app. This guide shows you how to get a public iCloud calendar link (.ics), convert the webcal:// URL into a plain https address, and understand the privacy trade-offs before you share it.

What "Public" means in iCloud

A public iCloud calendar is read-only for everyone who subscribes. They see your event titles, times, locations, and notes, but they cannot edit anything or see who else subscribed. Apple generates a long, random link — anyone with that link can view the calendar, so treat it like a password.

Make a calendar public on Mac

Open the Calendar app on macOS.
In the sidebar, hover over the calendar name and click the share icon (a person/radio-wave symbol), or right-click the calendar and choose Sharing Settings.
Tick Public Calendar.
Click the share icon next to it to copy the link, or choose Send Link to email it.

Make a calendar public on iPhone or iPad

Open the Calendar app.
Tap Calendars at the bottom.
Tap the info (i) button next to the calendar you want to share.
Turn on Public Calendar.
Tap Share Link to copy or send it.

Convert webcal:// to an https .ics link

iCloud hands you a link that starts with webcal://. That prefix tells calendar apps "subscribe to this feed." Many apps accept it as-is, but if you need a standard download or want to paste it into a tool that expects https, just swap the scheme:

You have	Change it to
`webcal://p01-caldav.icloud.com/published/...`	`https://p01-caldav.icloud.com/published/...`

The https version returns the raw .ics feed — the same iCalendar data, just over a normal web request. Both point to the identical calendar.

Quick reference

Subscribe in a calendar app → keep webcal://.
Download the file or inspect the feed → use https://.

Privacy caveats

The link is unguessable but not private. If you forward it or post it anywhere, anyone who has it can subscribe forever.
Subscribers keep access until you turn off Public Calendar, which generates a brand-new link the next time you republish.
Public calendars expose event details, including notes and locations. Move anything sensitive to a separate, private calendar first.
Public sharing is one-way. To let specific people add or edit events, use a private share instead — see how to share an iCloud calendar.

Turn off the public link

Mac: Reopen Sharing Settings and untick Public Calendar.
iPhone/iPad: Tap the info (i) button and turn off Public Calendar.

Once disabled, existing subscribers stop receiving updates. The frozen copy may linger in their app until they delete the dead subscription.

When you send someone the link, they can add it as a subscription. If they ask how, point them to subscribe to a calendar by URL or subscribe on iPhone and Mac. Keep in mind subscribed calendars don't refresh instantly — see why subscribed calendars don't update.

If you also juggle work calendars, nocal unifies your Google and Outlook calendars into one timeline — see how.