How to delete iPhone calendar spam

Spam has a way of finding us wherever we are—in our voicemails, text messages, and emails. But it can be especially frustrating when a spam calendar suddenly appears on your iPhone® Calendar app, crowding out your legitimate upcoming events and sending pesky notifications every few minutes. Why does this happen? And how can you fix it?

Asurion is your one-stop-shop for troubleshooting all the tech that makes your world go round. From fixing the iPhone “black screen of death" to teaching you surprising iPhone features you may have missed, our experts offer 24/7 tech care to millions. Here are their tips for getting rid of iPhone calendar spam.

How do you get iPhone calendar spam?

If you notice unwanted calendar invites or event notifications showing up on your Calendar app, you may have inadvertently subscribed to a spam calendar. This can happen if you accidentally tap a malicious ad while browsing, visit an illegal streaming site, or tap “OK" on a suspicious pop-up calendar subscription.

Why shouldn't you tap on iPhone calendar spam?

Never, ever tap any links inside spam events that pop up in your calendar. As tempting as it may be, tapping those links or buttons will alert the spammer that your email is active, which can lead to even more spam.

Instead, you can report the spam to iCloud® by following these steps:

1. Go to icloud.com and open up your Calendar app.
2. Open the event you want to report, and click Report Junk.
3. Click OK. You've now deleted the event from your calendar on all of your devices where you've signed in with the same Apple ID.

How do you remove iPhone calendar spam?

Deleting calendar spam on your iPhone is a straightforward process: Delete the spam calendar to get rid of the spam events. But there are slightly different instructions depending on your operating system. Here's how to check which version of iOS® software you have installed:

1. Go to Settings > General, then tap About.
2. In the list, look for Software Version.

Now follow the steps below that match your operating system to learn how to delete spam calendar events on your iPhone.

iOS 14.6 or later

1. Open the Calendar app.
2. Tap the unwanted Calendar event.
3. At the bottom of the screen, tap Unsubscribe from this Calendar.
4. Tap Unsubscribe to confirm.

Earlier versions of iOS

1. Open the Calendar app.
2. Tap Calendars at the bottom of the screen.
3. Look for a calendar that you don't recognize. Next to that calendar, tap the More Info button, then scroll down and tap Delete Calendar.

If you still see the spam calendar, follow these steps to delete the subscription in Settings:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Calendar > Accounts. (If you use iOS 13, tap Passwords & Accounts > Accounts.)
3. Tap Subscribed Calendars.
4. When you find a calendar you don't recognize, tap it, then tap Delete Account.

How do you protect yourself from iPhone calendar spam?

Now that you know how to stop calendar spam, here are a couple of tips for avoiding it. Most importantly, steer clear of untrusted websites, and stream content on reliable sites only. On a related note, here's what Asurion Experts have to say about stopping annoying spam text messages.