Google Calendar

Google Calendar prepares support for hiding specific holidays on Android

Ben Schoon | Jun 17 2024 - 7:30 am PT

Google Calendar makes it easy to keep track of appointments and key dates, but sometimes you just don’t need to see information that’s added by default, like holidays. Soon, you may have more choice in the matter.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

As it stands today, Google Calendar will show any national holidays in your region, with the option to turn that off entirely, limit it only to “public holidays,” or add other regions. But, soon, it appears that Google will let you do more here.

In Google Calendar v2024.23.0-641736842, we found strings in the app’s code that hint at the ability to hide specific holidays from your calendar.

This would come alongside a tweak to the existing “Public and other holidays” option which would now be called “All holidays.” The “National holidays” menu would also be renamed to “Regional holidays.”

<string name=”all_holidays”>All holidays</string>
<string name=”hide_holiday”>Hide this holiday</string>
<string name=”selected_holidays”>Selected holidays</string>
<string name=”regional_holidays_hint”>Add regional holidays</string>
<string name=”regional_holidays_section_title”>Regional Holidays</string>

The folks over at Android Authority managed to get this up and running, showing a new option within a holiday’s listing that allows users to hide that specific holiday. As such, a new option also appears in the main menu for “Selected holidays” as suggested by the strings.