How to Make a Profile Private in Steam

If you’re a Steam user, you can determine how friends should view your account. Make it private to prevent people from viewing your gaming activities and other details. Also, a private Steam profile is ideal if you usually open the app on a shared computer. This way, other users can’t track your activities.

If you don’t know how to run your Steam profile in private mode, you’ve come to the right place. This article explains how to make your Steam profile private.

Types of Steam Profile Data to Keep Private

All new Steam profiles are visible to the public by default. But as you start using the app, you can hide some crucial details by making your Steam profile private. The types of data you may want to hide include:

• Games
• Groups
• Inventory
• Current online status
• Personal achievements
• Your playtime
• Screenshots
• Comments
• Full friends list
• Last game selection

How to Make Your Steam Profile Private

Steam allows you to make the entire account confidential or partly private. You can do so by altering the privacy settings on your computer or phone.

Computer

1. Launch your Steam app on your PC and log into your account.
   
2. Navigate to the top right area and click a drop-down arrow to “View my profile.”
   
3. On the right side again, hit “Edit Profile.”
   
4. Move to the left pane and choose “Privacy Settings.”
   
5. Locate “My profile” and click on the drop-down arrow. Now select “Private.”
   

Note: You can make your Steam profile partly private by altering settings for some sub-categories.

Phone

1. Open your Steam mobile app by visiting your home screen app drawer. Then, log into your account.
   
2. Touch the “profile icon” in the top right corner.
   
3. Choose “View Profile.”
   
4. Touch the “Edit Profile” button in the “COMMUNITY.”
   
5. From the option choose “Privacy Settings.”
   
6. Select “My profile” and click the drop-down arrow. Choose the “Private” option.
   

How to See a Steam Profile on Private Mode

Nobody can view your Steam profile if you make it private. However, some people can use tactics to sneak a peek at your private details. If your friend has chosen to keep their Steam profile private, you can use a simple trick to view their profile. However, it may not work if they reject your friend request.

Here’s how to send this request:

• Search for the user who has a private profile on Steam.
• Visit their profile directly and hit “Add Friend.” This will let you add the user.
• Wait for the user to accept your invitation. If they do, you’ll see their private Steam profile.

How to Make Your Steam Private Profile Visible Publicly

You can switch between private and public profile views depending on your activities on Steam. If you want to play your favorite games with friends, make your profile public. With public visibility, your friends can see what you’ve been up to on Steam.

Here’s how to convert a private profile to a public one:

1. Launch your Steam application on your PC and sign in.
   
2. Click “Profile name” in the upper right corner and pick “View my profile” from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Hit the “Edit Profile,” navigate to the left side pane.
   
4. Choose “Privacy Settings.”
   
5. Your current profile mode will be “Private.” Click the drop-down menu and choose “Public.”
   

Note: You can make your account partly public by altering the privacy settings of various sub-categories, including Friends List, Game details, etc.

Other Privacy Settings You Can Alter

After setting your Steam profile private, you can alter three other things, including the Friends List, Game Details, and Inventory.

Friends List

The Friends List lets you access and manage your friends. Initially, you can add up to 250 friends. As you climb up a level, you can add five friends at a time. You can look for friends to add from the Steam community, visit profiles and add people manually, or share invite links.

If a user’s Friends List is full, they won’t receive your invite. Also, if you invite a user with a Limited account, they can’t accept your request. Lastly, a user won’t reflect on your Friends List if the invite is still pending.

People can view the Friends List through the “Steam Community” page. To hide the “Friends List” from prying eyes, do the following:

1. Move to “Profile,” “View my profile,” and click “Edit profile.”
   
2. Choose the “Private” or “Friends Only” option.
   

Note: If you choose the latter, only your friends can see who you relate with. Selecting “Private” means that no one will see the Friends List.

Game Details

Game Details is a category that you’ve added to your Steam account. It shows the games on your wish list, badges, achievements, playtime per game, etc. You can use this option to prevent or let people know when you’re playing a game.

If you want to hide your gaming sessions from others, do the following:

1. Open the Steam app, move to the upper right corner, and click “Username” to open the drop-down menu.
   
2. Click “Profile” and then choose “View my profile.”
   
3. Hit the “Edit Profile” icon and choose “Privacy Settings.”
   
4. Move to “Game Details” and change the setting to “Private.”
   
   

Inventory

This is another option you can control on Steam. It shows the Steam Trading Cards you’ve gathered, copies of Steam Gifts, and items like weapons, skins, etc. Here’s how to buy things from Steam Inventory:

1. Launch the Steam application on your device.
   
2. Move to the “Community Market.”
   
3. Scroll down slowly and choose an item in the popular item list. Also, you can select a game from a list or find another item to buy via the search box.
   
4. Click “Buy” to finish.
   

To make inventory private, do the following:

1. Go to Profile and click on your nickname to view “Inventory.”
   
2. Select the drop-down arrow near “Trade Offers.”
   
3. Choose “Privacy Settings” and move to the “Inventory” sub-category.
   
4. Click the drop-down arrow and select “Private.”
   

FAQ

Can users on Steam view my games if I turn my profile to private?

It depends on whether you set the whole profile entirely private. That includes turning your “Game Details” section to private. Nobody will view any information on your hidden account unless they send you a friend request and you accept it.

When should I make my Steam profile public?

When you create a new account, it will be visible publicly. You can leave it that way if you plan to play most games with your friends. Again, if you don’t mind showing them your achievements and badges, you can use a public profile on Steam.

How can I view private games on Steam?

You can do that by clicking the “View” button on the top menu bar. Hit “Hidden Games” from a drop-down menu. You can then unhide the games on the hidden list and play them.

Can I see who sees my Steam profile?

If someone views your Steam profile, the app won’t notify you. However, you can make your profile private if you think other people are spying on you.

Hide Your Steam Profile

Perhaps you’d be at risk if your boss or another person views your games and other account details on Steam. Luckily, you can prevent people from spying on your activities by making your Steam profile private. If you want to make it partially private, you can make some sub-categories public and vice-versa.

Have you ever made your Steam Profile private? If so, did you use any of the advice featured in this article? Let us know in the comments section below.