Steam has a mind-boggling impressive catalog of 50,000+ video games encompassing every imaginable genre. Simply it likewise contains lots of titles with terrible gameplay or embarrassing content that you'd adopt not to have your friends or family see yous play.

Luckily, Steam provides a handful of options and privacy controls that you lot can readily use to hibernate specific games on Steam or your gaming activity from others. They aren't perfect, only you should find them adequate in near circumstances.

Hibernate Games in Steam Library

If you desire to keep a Steam purchase private from someone else with access to your PC or Mac, you can quickly choose to hide information technology from your library. However, that won't uninstall the game, hinder your ability to play it, or hide it from players on your Steam friends list.

one. Open up the Steam app and switch to the Library tab.

2. Locate and right-click the video game that you lot want to hide.

3. Point to Manage and select Hide this game.

Steam won't brandish the game within your library anymore. Suppose you want to play information technology, open the View menu, and select Subconscious Games. Then, right-click the title and select Play.

You can besides unhide the game whenever you want. Just correct-click it within your Subconscious Games listing and select Manage > Unhide this game.

Hibernate In-Game Steam Status

If you desire to stop players within your Steam friends list from seeing you lot every bit "in-game" while playing a particular video game, the best way to do that is to gear up your profile status to "Invisible." That volition brand y'all announced as "Offline" in Steam, but you tin still chat.

Notwithstanding, players shall continue to see your achievements and playtime related to the game should they decide to visit your Steam contour. You tin can prevent that past tweaking your privacy settings (more on that further below).

1. Open the Friends & Chat pane from the lower-right corner of the Steam app.

two. Select the pointer-shaped icon next to your Steam avatar.

3. Select Invisible.

Note: Selecting Offline also hides your in-game condition, merely y'all won't be able to conversation with other players.

Once you've finished playing, feel free to change your Steam status to "Online." Just make certain to exit the game fully before you do that.

Hide Status From Select Friends

Blocking all communication with a player in your friends' list prevents Steam from relaying your gameplay activeness to them in real-time. That'south ideal for instances where you want to hide a game from a few select friends only.

Nevertheless, your in-game condition will still show up within a blocked player's Friends & Chat pane if they determine to quit and restart Steam.

1. Open up the Friends & Chat pane.

two. Select the arrow-shaped icon adjacent to the thespian's profile proper noun.

3. Point to Manage and select Block All Communication.

In one case you've finished playing, select the pointer-shaped icon next to the blocked role player's profile proper name once again and select Manage > Unblock All Advice.

Set Steam Game Details to Private

Setting your contour status to "Invisible" does not block your games list, achievements, or playtime from players in your friends' list. If you want absolute privacy, you can hide all game details on Steam by modifying the privacy settings in your Steam profile. That volition likewise terminate Steam from displaying you lot every bit "in-game" to other players while playing any video game in your library.

1. Select your Steam contour avatar from the top-right of the Steam app or website and selection the View my profile pick.

two. Select Edit Profile and switch to the Privacy Settings side tab.

iii. Under the My profile section, set Game details to Private.

Alternatively, you can keep the Game details setting at Friends Only (which is the default setting) and check the box next to Ever keep my total playtime individual fifty-fifty if users can see my game details to block your total game playtime only.

Steam should save your changes automatically. Make any boosted modifications to the privacy settings if you desire and go out the Edit Profile screen.

Remove a Steam Game Permanently

Suppose you don't want to make your Steam game details private. Just if you however want to hide a game from your online Steam contour, you tin have the drastic step of removing information technology from your account completely. However, the only way to play it again is by re-purchasing it.

Permanently removing a game won't hide any achievements or playtime related to it on your Steam contour.

1. Open the Help carte and select Steam Support.

2. Select the video game from the Recently Played listing. If you lot don't run into it, type its proper name into the search box at the bottom of the screen to bring information technology up.

three. Select I desire to permanently remove this game from my business relationship and follow all remaining instructions to remove it from your Steam business relationship.

If you've just played the game for less than two hours and have however to exceed two weeks since the engagement of buy, try requesting a refund from Steam instead.

Privacy Conscious Gamer

Your privacy matters, and Steam could be much better with more than granular options to determine what others can and cannot see. For example, being able to hibernate the achievements and playtime for individual games instead of everything would be goose egg curt of terrific. Only until Valve decides to improve its platform, the methods higher up should help you out a lot.