Playing games on Steam is fun, especially when you can see what your friends are playing and join in. However, sometimes you may not want others to see that you are playing certain games. Here’s a detailed guide on how to hide your game activity status from friends on Steam.
Table of Contents
Why Hide Game Activity on Steam?
There are a few reasons why you may want to hide your game activity from friends:
- Privacy – You may not want everyone knowing what games you play, how much you play, and when you play. Hiding activity gives you more privacy.
- Avoid judgment – Some games have stigma attached to them. You may feel embarrassed if friends see you playing certain adult or unpopular games.
- Focus time – Seeing friends playing games can be distracting and tempt you to stop your own tasks. Hiding activity allows you to focus without distractions.
- Appear offline – You can hide gaming activity while remaining online and available for chat. Useful for avoiding game invites when you want to play solo.
Ways to Hide Steam Game Activity
There are a few different methods you can use to hide your Steam game activity status from friends:
1. Set Profile Game Details to Private
This hides all game activity across your Steam profile. Friends will not see:
- What games you own
- What games you have recently played
- How many hours played on each game
- If you are currently playing a game
To set profile game details to private:
- Open the Steam client
- Click your username at the top right > View my profile
- Click “Edit my profile”
- Click “Privacy settings”
- Set “Game details” to “Private”
2. Use Invisible Mode
This hides your current online status and game activity from all friends. Useful when you want to appear offline temporarily.
To enable invisible mode:
- Open the Steam client
- Click “Friends” at the bottom right
- Click your status under your username
- Select “Invisible”
Note: Friends will still see your recently played games on your profile unless you have also set game details to private.
3. Set Games as Private Individually
You can hide your activity on a per game basis instead of profile-wide. Useful for selectively hiding certain games only.
To set individual games as private:
- Right click on a game in your Library
- Select “Manage” > “Hide this game”
- Game now shows as private under “Hidden games” list
Note: Game will remain hidden until you unhide it, persists across restarts.
4. Appear Offline in Friends List
You can show as offline in the friends list specifically while remaining online. This hides your current game activity from friends only.
To show offline in friends:
- Click “Friends” at bottom right
- Click the arrow next to your name
- Select “Offline” under the status menu
Note: Profile game activity visibility depends on your privacy settings.
5. Block All Notifications
You can disable notifications globally to prevent any game status notifications showing to friends.
To block notifications:
- Click friend’s name in chat or friends list
- Select “Notifications”
- Untick boxes to disable notifications as desired
Note: You will also stop seeing that friend’s notifications.
Other Ways to Increase Steam Privacy
In addition to hiding your game activity status, you can increase privacy in other areas of your Steam profile:
- Friends list – Hide your friends from public view
- Inventory – Make games, items & gifts private
- Screenshots – Disable screenshot community submissions
- Profile comments – Disable profile posts from others
Taking time to check your privacy settings gives you control over what friends and the public can see.
Conclusion
Hiding your game activity on Steam is easy once you know the different methods. Setting your profile game details to private or utilizing invisible mode are the best ways to completely hide your gaming status. Restrict visibility as much as you like to get the privacy level you want.
What methods do you use to hide your game activity from friends on Steam? Let me know in the comments!
