Google 2-way Sync Frequently Asked Questions
This will be useful if:
You are a Driving Instructor User of the Secure Licence booking platform.
You are trying to:
Connect your Google Calendar to your Secure Licence calendar
Sync your Google events into Secure Licence or troubleshoot missing events
Reconnect your calendar after a failed or expired connection
Keep your availability accurate across both calendar
Understand which Google events get synced
Manage or adjust your calendar sync settings
Disconnect or remove the Google Calendar sync
Resolve double-ups, conflicts, or incorrect event times
Protect your privacy and understand what information Secure Licence can and cannot access
Overview:
Secure Licence’s 2-way Google Calendar sync allows you to keep your availability and lesson bookings accurate across both calendars. When enabled, Secure Licence reads your selected Google calendars to block out busy times and automatically adds your Secure Licence bookings to Google Calendar. This FAQ covers common questions, troubleshooting steps, privacy information, and tips to help you get the most out of calendar sync.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What does Google Calendar sync do?
Google Calendar sync helps keep both calendars accurate and up to date by:
Blocking out time on Secure Licence when you're busy in your selected Google calendars
Adding Secure Licence lesson bookings into your Google Calendar so you can see all your work alongside your personal plans
What if 2-way Sync fails?
If the sync fails due to a temporary connection issue, It will automatically retry after a few seconds.
However, if the failure is caused by an invalid or expired Google token, you will need to reconnect your Google Calendar. Simply go to your Secure Licence calendar settings and complete the connection process again.
Which Google Calendar items get synced.
Secure Licence syncs the following types of Google Calendar entries:
Events
Out of Office
Focus Time
These items will appear in your Secure Licence calendar as busy time to help prevent double-bookings.
How do I stay in control of what’s synced?
You remain fully in control of your connection at all times:
Choose which Google calendars to sync when setting up
Adjust your calendar selection or disconnect sync anytime from your settings
Review and resolve any conflicts if a Google Calendar event overlaps with an Secure Licence booking
Why are Secure Licence events appearing twice in my Google Calendar?
You may see duplicate Secure Licence events in your Google Calendar because two different sources are adding the same booking.
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Scenario 1: Email-created events (ICS files)
Your Gmail may be automatically adding events to your calendar when you receive Secure Licence booking confirmation emails. These ICS-generated events create the first version of the booking.
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Scenario 2: Events from Google 2-Way Sync
Your Secure Licence 2-way sync also adds lesson events to your Google Calendar. This creates the second version of the same booking.
How to fix it
To prevent duplicates, go to your Secure Licence Calendar Settings and scroll down to the “Attach calendar event to booking email” option. Set this to ‘No’ to stop booking emails from automatically creating calendar events.
This ensures that only the events coming from your Google 2-way sync appear in your Google Calendar.
Why can't I edit or delete Secure Licence events in my Google calendar?
Secure Licence bookings appear as read-only in your Google Calendar because Secure Licence is the source of truth for all lesson bookings.
Any edits you make directly in Google Calendar—such as changing or deleting an Secure Licence event—will not sync back to Secure Licence and will not update the actual booking.
To update, reschedule, or cancel a lesson, you’ll need to make those changes within the Secure Licence platform. Once updated, the changes will automatically sync to your Google Calendar.
How do I hide Google Event details in Secure Licence Calendar?
To hide Google events from your Secure Licence Calendar, go to your Secure Licence Calendar Settings, scroll down to Synced Calendar Visibility and change the setting from Show to Hide. click Save Changes
How do I edit Google Event details in Secure Licence Calendar?
To edit a Google event in your Secure Licence calendar, click the event you want to update. A small pop-up will appear at the bottom of your screen.
Click the pop-up to open the full event view. Make your changes, click Save.
Check your Google Calendar to confirm that the update has synced successfully.
What if there is a double-up or conflict between my Secure Licence calendar and my Google Calendar?
Double-ups happen when a Google event overlaps with an Secure Licence booking. Make sure your Google Calendar is up to date and remove any old or incorrect events to avoid conflicts.
Once Google events sync, those time slots are no longer available for learners to book.
Tips:
- Avoid Double-Ups – Google events overlap your Secure Licence bookings.
- Clear Conflicting Google Events – Remove outdated or incorrect Google events.
- Fix Calendar Overlaps – Overlapping events may block bookings.
- Protect Your Bookings – Conflicts may affect your availability
- Quick Calendar Check – Clean up Google events to keep things running smoothly.
Do instructors receive SMS notifications for calendar conflicts?
Yes. Instructors will receive an SMS notification the day before their bookings.
If a calendar conflict is detected:
Reminder: Calendar conflict(s) detected — please check your schedule. {X} booking(s) tomorrow. View: http://xxxxIf no conflict is detected:
Reminder: {X} booking(s) tomorrow. View: http://xxxx
These reminders help instructors review their schedule and resolve any potential conflicts ahead of time.
Why are my Google events not syncing into the Secure Licence calendar, even though Secure Licence events sync to Google? How do I fix it?
This usually happens when no Google calendars were selected during the initial setup.
To fix the issue follow the step by step guide on How to set up Google Calendar 2-way sync.
Ensure you select a calendar to sync. If no calendar is selected—or if the setup window is closed without confirming—Google events will not sync back into your Secure Licence calendar.
How do birthday events affect availability?
Google Calendar categorises events as either Busy or Free, which determines your availability for bookings.
Busy events:
You will not be available for new bookings during this time.Free events:
You will remain available for new bookings.
Note: Birthday events in Google Calendar are marked as Free by default, so they will not block your availability unless you change the event to Busy.
How do I change the travel time for my personal Google events?
If you’d like to adjust the amount of travel time for your personal Google Calendar events in Secure Licence, go to your Secure Licence Calendar Settings and scroll down to Travel Buffer settings, under Synced Calendar Events click the drop down arrow and select your preferred travel time between events.
Why don’t the times on my Google events match the times in my Secure Licence calendar?
This usually happens when your Google Calendar is set to a different time zone than the locations (postcodes/areas) where you provide services in Secure Licence. When the time zones don’t match, events may appear at incorrect times.
To fix this, update your Google Calendar time zone so it aligns with the region where you are delivering lessons. This will ensure your availability and bookings display accurately in Secure Licence.
Will learners see my personal calendar?
Learners never see your personal events. They only see whether a time is available or not—your private Google Calendar details are never shared.
Secure Licence prevents Google events from changing or cancelling any existing Secure Licence bookings. The Secure Licence platform remains the source of truth for all learner bookings, ensuring bookings stay accurate and protected.
Calendar access is strictly limited to what’s required to manage your availability. All tokens are securely stored, encrypted, and refreshed automatically in line with data security policies.
Will Secure Licence be able to see all my personal events?
Secure Licence only has access to the specific Google calendars you choose to sync. You can include or exclude calendars at any time—for example, you might connect your “Work / Driving Lessons” calendar but leave your “Personal” or “Family” calendar unshared.
The connection uses Google’s secure OAuth 2.0 process, which means Secure Licence receives permission only for calendar access. We cannot access your emails, contacts, or files.
Secure Licence uses your selected calendar events solely to:
Block out busy times so learners can’t book over your personal commitments
Add your Secure Licence lesson bookings into your Google Calendar so you can see all your bookings in one place.
What can Secure Licence not see?
Secure Licence cannot:
See or access any Google calendars you do not select
Access your emails, contacts, photos, or Google Drive files
Show your personal appointment details to learners—they only see whether a time is available or not
How do I set up Google Calendar 2-way sync?
For step-by-step instructions see our support article How to set up Google Calendar 2-way sync here