Steam has a mind-extraordinary impressive catalog of 50,000+ video games encompassing every imaginable genre. But it also contains lots of titles with terrible gameplay or embarrassing content that you lot'd prefer non to have your friends or family unit encounter you play.

Luckily, Steam provides a scattering of options and privacy controls that yous tin readily use to hibernate specific games on Steam or your gaming activity from others. They aren't perfect, but yous should notice them adequate in most circumstances.

Hide Games in Steam Library

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

1. Open the Steam app and switch to the Library tab.

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

3. Point to Manage and select Hide this game.

Steam won't brandish the game within your library anymore. Suppose you desire to play it, open up the View menu, and select Hidden Games. So, right-click the title and select Play.

You lot can also unhide the game whenever yous desire. Simply correct-click it within your Subconscious Games listing and select Manage > Unhide this game.

Hide In-Game Steam Status

If you lot desire to stop players inside your Steam friends list from seeing you as "in-game" while playing a particular video game, the best mode to do that is to ready your contour status to "Invisible." That will make yous appear equally "Offline" in Steam, but y'all can still chat.

Notwithstanding, players shall continue to see your achievements and playtime related to the game should they make up one's mind to visit your Steam profile. You can prevent that by tweaking your privacy settings (more on that further below).

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

2. Select the arrow-shaped icon next to your Steam avatar.

3. Select Invisible.

Note: Selecting Offline likewise hides your in-game status, simply you won't be able to chat with other players.

Once yous've finished playing, feel costless to change your Steam status to "Online." Only make sure to leave the game fully earlier y'all 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 platonic for instances where you lot want to hide a game from a few select friends only.

Still, your in-game status volition all the same prove up within a blocked player's Friends & Chat pane if they decide to quit and restart Steam.

1. Open up the Friends & Chat pane.

2. Select the arrow-shaped icon next to the thespian's contour name.

3. Point to Manage and select Block All Communication.

Once you've finished playing, select the arrow-shaped icon next to the blocked player'south profile name again and select Manage > Unblock All Communication.

Set up Steam Game Details to Private

Setting your profile status to "Invisible" does not block your games list, achievements, or playtime from players in your friends' list. If you desire absolute privacy, yous can hide all game details on Steam by modifying the privacy settings in your Steam profile. That will also cease Steam from displaying you as "in-game" to other players while playing any video game in your library.

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

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

3. Nether the My contour section, set Game details to Private.

Alternatively, you lot tin keep the Game details setting at Friends But (which is the default setting) and cheque the box next to Always keep my total playtime private even if users can see my game details to block your total game playtime only.

Steam should save your changes automatically. Make any additional modifications to the privacy settings if y'all want and exit the Edit Profile screen.

Remove a Steam Game Permanently

Suppose y'all don't want to make your Steam game details private. But if you still want to hide a game from your online Steam profile, you can have the desperate footstep of removing it from your business relationship completely. Still, the only mode to play it once again is by re-purchasing it.

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

1. Open the Help menu and select Steam Support.

2. Select the video game from the Recently Played list. If y'all don't encounter information technology, type its name into the search box at the bottom of the screen to bring it upwards.

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

If you've only played the game for less than two hours and take yet to exceed two weeks since the engagement of purchase, try requesting a refund from Steam instead.

Privacy Witting Gamer

Your privacy matters, and Steam could be much better with more than granular options to determine what others tin and cannot run into. For example, beingness able to hide the achievements and playtime for individual games instead of everything would be aught curt of terrific. But until Valve decides to improve its platform, the methods in a higher place should assist you lot out a lot.