How to Enable Desktop Notifications for Google Calendar in Chrome

Google Calendar has basically taken over as the go-to calendar for many users—it’s cross-platform, on the web, and tied to your Google account, so it’s super convenient and easy to use. The notification system is also great, but if you’re not into the default notification system, there’s a quick and easy way to change it.

RELATED: How to Customize Google Calendar's Notifications on the Web

By default, Calendar uses what Google calls “interruptive alerts,” which basically means it allows calendar to hijack focus by using a popup window to show a notification. While sometimes nice, it can also be pretty annoying if you’re in the middle of doing something else—like typing, for example.

Fortunately, Chrome’s standard notification system is also an option here, you just need to tweak a couple of Chrome settings.

To change this setting, click the gear icon just below your profile image on the Calendar webapp, then choose “Settings.”

Look for the “Notifications” section, which has but one simple option: “Use browser notifications instead of interruptive alerts.” Check that little box.

With this option enabled, a second option will show up to also have Calendar play a sound. The bad news is that you can’t pick the sound.

Finally, just choose “Save” at the top.

Boom, desktop notifications are the new normal, with the intrusive interruptive alerts never to be seen again…unless you change the setting.