Google Calendar adding email verification opt-in for appointment scheduling

Google Calendar introduced a new feature a couple of months ago that gave users the ability to set pre-defined appointment slots so that anyone can book an appointment with them. This feature, called “Appointment Scheduling,” was different from the original “appointment slots” that Calendar offers in that it created an external page that could be shared with anyone – including clients without Google accounts – allowing this feature to be more on par with popular services like Calendly.

While it was a welcome and extremely helpful addition to the range of features that Google Calendar already offers, it had some potential to be abused by malicious actors. In order to protect users against these threats, Calendar is now adding an opt-in for this feature to require email verification before booking an appointment. The setting will be off by default, but once a user turns it on, it will stay on until it gets manually turned off again. When enabled, the person trying to book the appointment will need to be signed in to a Google account or validate their email address using a PIN.

This feature started rolling out on a two-week schedule on May 11th for Rapid Release domains, while Scheduled Release domains won’t start seeing it until May 25th, when it will take about 1-3 days for full feature visibility. The availability of the feature will be as below:

Available

• Google Workspace Business Standard

• Business Plus

• Enterprise Standard

• Enterprise Plus

• Education Fundamentals

• Education Standard

• Education Plus

• Teaching and Learning Upgrade

• Nonprofits customers 

Unavailable

• Google Workspace Essentials

• Business Starter

• Frontline,

• Legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers