How to hide games on Steam from your profile
To hide Steam games from your profile, open the Steam client or web store, go to Settings > Privacy, and adjust Library Privacy and Visibility options for individual games. You can make specific titles invisible to friends and the public while keeping them in your library, and manage who can see your playtime. These controls help you keep certain games private without uninstalling them. Below are the steps, details on what hiding affects, and verified notes on limits.
Quick summary of behavior
- Hiding a game removes it from your public and friends’ library views, but you retain access and playtime tracking for your own use.
- Hidden games do not appear in your public profile, in game lists on the Steam Community, or on the Store page that surfaces your owned titles.
- You can still launch, update, and trade hidden titles; achievements may unlock and count toward your overall Steam Stats unless hidden individually.
- Visibility settings apply per-game and can be changed anytime; they do not refund or hide purchase records in Account Orders.
What hiding Steam games actually does
Hiding games on Steam changes who can see them and how your playtime is displayed, while keeping the game in your account. This is useful for personal privacy, sharing a device with others, or maintaining a specific public image. It is not a deletion or refund mechanism. You remain the owner, and the game stays in your library; only its visibility is altered across community and storefront surfaces.
Definitions and defaults
| Term | Definition | Default visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Owner profile visibility | Who can see your entire game list on your Steam profile | Friends |
| Individual game privacy | Per-title setting that can override the profile-level default | Follows profile setting |
| Playtime display | Hours shown next to a game in your profile and in discovery queues | Visible to allowed audience |
| Community/Store presence | Whether the title appears in public lists, recommendations, and the Recent Owners section | Audience-dependent |
Current platform support as of 2024
Steam privacy controls are available on the modern web store, the desktop and mobile clients, and the Big Picture mode. Web and client settings are kept in sync through your Steam account. Language and exact menu labels may vary slightly by region and client version, but the underlying privacy options are consistent across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and consoles that support the Steam Link ecosystem.
Step-by-step: hide a game on the Steam client
- Open the Steam client and sign in to your account.
- Click your Profile name in the top-right and choose Privacy Settings.
- Under Library, set Who can see my library to Friends or Only me. This sets the default for new games.
- Return to your Library, right-click a game, and select Properties.
- Go to the Privacy tab and choose Hide this game from my profile (or a custom audience if available).
- Confirm; the game will no longer appear in your public profile lists.
Notes on achievements and playtime
Hiding a title does not pause or reset your in-game achievements. Steam may still unlock achievements and count playtime for your personal stats, depending on the title’s achievement settings and your local privacy choices. If you want to stop tracking for a specific game entirely, you can choose the option to hide playtime from friends in Privacy Settings; this keeps ownership records but limits visible activity.
Step-by-step: hide a game on the Steam website
- Visit the Steam store and sign in.
- Click your username and open Account Details.
- Select Privacy settings to set default library visibility for friends or private.
- Go to Library, find the game, and click the overflow menu (three dots).
- Choose Manage game visibility and set it to hidden for your profile.
- Save; the game will be removed from public views and from recommendation surfaces that surface your owned titles.
Mobile and Big Picture guidance
On the Steam mobile app, navigate through your profile and privacy settings to control library visibility; specific per-game toggles may be limited compared to the client. In Big Picture mode, use a controller to reach Privacy and Library settings. If a setting is grayed out, check that your account and client are up to date, and that regional or family restrictions are not limiting the option.
Common behaviors and limitations
When you hide a game, it disappears from your public profile pages and from observable lists such as Recent Owners and Recommends based on ownership. However, purchase records remain in your account under Order History, and support can still see associated transactions. Hidden games stay in your library; you can unhide them at any time by repeating the steps and toggling visibility back. Community features like trading or gifting are not blocked by hiding alone, but some social interactions may be affected by your broader privacy settings.
Visibility setting map
| Setting location | Controls | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Profile > Privacy > Library | Who can see my library | Default audience for all games |
| Game Properties > Privacy | Override for a single title | Hides or reveals one game |
| Privacy > Playtime | Show/hide hours for friends or public | Playtime visible even if game is hidden |
| Account > Orders | Order history access | Purchase record is not hidden |
Why you might want to hide games and what it doesn’t do
Players hide games to reduce social pressure, avoid unwanted recommendations, or maintain privacy on shared devices. It can also help streamline your profile if you own many titles but only want a subset to be visible. Hiding will not delete saves, cloud backups, or entitlements; it will not prevent friends from learning about a game through other means such as screenshots or external sharing. If you want to restrict playtime visible to others, adjust the Playtime setting separately. And remember, achievements and leaderboards may still operate normally unless disabled in-game or by specific title settings.
Managing your overall Steam privacy for long-term control
For durable control, periodically review both your profile-level defaults and per-game overrides. Set your default library visibility to a restrictive level such as Friends, then selectively unhide titles you want public. Check the Playtime setting if you want to hide hours while keeping games visible, or want to show hours while hiding certain titles. Keep your Steam client and web app updated to ensure you see the latest privacy options. These routines help maintain your intended visibility without affecting ownership, installs, or cloud saves.
Best practices checklist
- Set default library visibility to Friends or Only me in Profile Privacy.
- Override per-game visibility in Properties > Privacy for fine control.
- Adjust Playtime visibility separately if you hide hours from friends.
- Review your profile periodically to confirm no accidental reveals.
- Note that purchase history remains in Account Orders and is not altered.
FAQ
Reader questions
Does hiding a game delete it from my library?
No. Hidden games remain in your library, installed and owned. They simply stop appearing in public and friends’ views of your profile.
Will my friends be notified if I hide a game?
No. There is no notification sent when you hide or unhide a title. Friends will simply no longer see that game in your public listings.
Can I hide playtime for specific games only?
Yes, in Privacy Settings you can manage playtime visibility overall. Per-game granular control over playtime display is not available; visibility toggles affect whether the game appears, not whether hours are shown separately.
Will hiding a game remove its achievements from my profile?
Typically no. Achievements may still unlock and contribute to your Stats unless the game’s own settings or broader privacy settings limit tracking. Hiding the game does not retroactively remove earned achievements.
Do hidden games still get recommendations?
Recommendations are based on ownership and play patterns; hiding reduces direct signals in your public profile, but Steam’s algorithms may still use owned and played data from your account for suggestions, especially if your privacy allows activity tracking.
Can I hide games from specific friends?
Steam does not offer per-friend visibility controls for individual games. You can manage overall library visibility to Friends or Only me, which applies to all friends uniformly.
Will my hidden games appear in sales or owned-titles promotions?
No. Hidden titles are omitted from public-facing lists, including the Store page that shows your owned games. Internal records for purchases and support remain unaffected.