Skip the Spam: Google Calendar Can Now Filter Invites by 'Known Sender' Only

pcmag.com:

Has your Google Calendar been filling up with spam invites? A new option will allow you to only display events that come from people you know.

That includes(Opens in a new window) people with your company domain, those in your contact list, or folks with whom you've interacted before. The tool doesn't block unknown senders entirely; you'll still get invitations from non-contacts, but the event only appears on the calendar after you approve it.

Anyone who's received a Calendar invite via email will know that Google automatically adds events to your schedule, potentially clogging it with unwanted meetings and get-togethers. And while there is a workaround, it involves disabling automatic event adding altogether, leaving you to respond to each and every invitation individually.

Google has been working on a fix(Opens in a new window) since 2019, and it's now finally rolling out. Look for it to reach all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business clients, and anyone with a personal Google Account, by early August.

Once it's available, open Calendar and navigate to Settings > Event Settings > Add invitations to my calendar and choose "Only if the sender is known." Managers can set the default option for an entire organization, while end users may want to tweak their personal preferences—including whether all invitations appear or only those you've accepted.

The setting still won't prevent folks from receiving spam invites, but it does stop them from automatically appearing on your Calendar. 

This update comes about a month after Google launched a fresh Gmail layout that better integrates email, video calls, chat, and content sharing. It rolled out widely last month, alongside improved email