How CoParentCal works under the hood.
CoParentCal bridges OurFamilyWizard's calendar with standard calendar applications using the iCalendar (ICS) protocol — the same open standard that powers calendar sharing across Google, Apple, Microsoft, and every major calendar platform.
| Sync frequency | Every 60 minutes |
| Off-hours | 10:00 PM – 5:00 AM Eastern (syncs every 3 hours instead of hourly) |
| Date range | Initial sync: 6 months back, 12 months forward. Future events updated each cycle. |
| Event archiving | All events are preserved for the life of your subscription — history only grows, nothing is removed |
| Failure handling | On sync failure, the previous feed is preserved. After 5 consecutive failures, syncing pauses and you are notified. |
Your OFW username and password are encrypted using Fernet symmetric encryption (AES-256-CBC) with HMAC-SHA256 authentication before being stored. The encryption key is stored separately from the database. Credentials are decrypted only in memory during each sync cycle, used to authenticate with OFW, and immediately discarded.
All connections use TLS/HTTPS. Your feed URL is served over an encrypted connection. Calendar apps that subscribe to your feed also use HTTPS to fetch updates.
Payments are processed entirely by Stripe. Your credit card information never touches our servers. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified — the highest level of payment security certification.
Your calendar feed URL contains a unique cryptographic token (UUID v4). Only someone with this exact URL can access your calendar data. The URL is not guessable, indexed by search engines, or shared with third parties.
CoParentCal never modifies your OFW account. It uses the same export feature available in OFW's web interface. No events are created, edited, or deleted. No messages are sent. No settings are changed.
CoParentCal generates a standard iCalendar (.ics) feed that any compliant calendar application can subscribe to. The feed includes:
Each calendar app has its own refresh schedule for subscribed feeds. CoParentCal updates your feed every hour, but your calendar app may check less frequently:
| Google Calendar | Every 12–24 hours (not configurable) |
| Apple Calendar (macOS) | Every 5 min to daily (configurable in preferences) |
| Apple Calendar (iOS) | Fetched when app is opened or on push schedule |
| Outlook (desktop) | Every 1–24 hours (configurable) |
| Outlook (web) | Approximately every 3 hours |
Parenting schedule not included. OFW's calendar export only includes discrete events (appointments, activities, exchanges). The color-coded parenting schedule overlay is not part of OFW's export and cannot be synced.
One-way sync only. Events flow from OFW to your calendar app. Changes made in your calendar app are not sent back to OFW.
Depends on OFW's web interface. If OurFamilyWizard changes their website design significantly, syncing may temporarily pause until we update our integration. We monitor for changes proactively.
Calendar app refresh delays. While CoParentCal updates your feed every hour, your calendar app may take longer to fetch the latest version (see refresh rates above).
OurFamilyWizard's calendar is designed as a closed system. While it has some integration features, they are limited:
CoParentCal fills this gap by automating the export process and serving it as a standard, subscribable calendar feed.