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To hide activity from one Steam game, mark that game as Private. In the desktop client, right-click the game (or open its gear menu), choose Manage, and select Mark as Private. You can also use the game’s Properties > Privacy dialog. This hides ownership, playtime, in-game status, and activity such as achievement unlocks for that title without hiding your entire library.
Choose the setting that matches what you want to hide
Steam has separate controls for a single game, your overall profile, the game list that comparison tools read, and your friends list. Selecting the wrong control can either expose more information than intended or prevent a comparison service from loading your library.
| Steam control | Scope | Who can see it | Data affected | Effect on comparison tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark as Private | One game | Other users are prevented from seeing that title’s activity | Ownership, in-game status, playtime, activity, achievement activity, profile game listings and related showcases | The private title is not available for normal library or achievement reading |
| Profile privacy | Whole Steam profile | Public, Friends Only, or Private | Overall profile visibility; the exact information available depends on the profile state and separate settings | A restricted profile can block external tools even when a game is not individually private |
| Game details | Your game list and related details | Public, Friends Only, or Private according to the dropdown | Whether the game list can be read | Third-party comparison sites generally need Public; Friends Only usually works only for authenticated Steam friends |
| Friends list | Your friends list | Controlled separately from profile and Game details | Friend-list visibility and, where supported, friend-picker access | A tool that needs to select friends may require this setting to be readable |
| Hide this game | Your own Library view | Primarily an organizational view for you | Whether the title is shown in your Library | Does not make the game private to other users |
The practical rule is simple: use Mark as Private for a single game, and use Game details when deciding whether a comparison service may read your library. These controls are independent.
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Desktop Steam client
- Open Steam while it is online and connected.
- Open your Library and locate the game whose activity you want to conceal.
- Right-click the game, or open the gear menu on its library page.
- Choose Manage, then select Mark as Private.
- Confirm the change if Steam displays a confirmation prompt.
Steam also exposes the same control through the game’s settings: open the game’s Properties, select Privacy, and mark the title private there. The control applies to that game rather than changing your whole account.
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Steam Community profile in a browser
From your Steam Community profile, open the games list and use the option to mark the selected game as private. This is useful when you are already managing profile visibility in a browser instead of the desktop client.
Marking a purchase private from the cart
Steam can also mark a purchase private from the shopping cart. Use that option when you want the game to start with private visibility rather than changing it after it has been added to your library.
What marking a game private actually hides
Steam describes the control this way: “Marking a game as private hides your ownership, in-game status, playtime, and activity in that game.” For achievement privacy, the important consequences are:
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- The game is removed from the games list shown on your Community profile.
- It is removed from the Recently Played section visible to others.
- Starting the game does not change your visible status to In Game for that title.
- Friends do not receive activity-feed events such as an achievement unlock or Played for the first time.
- The game and its achievements no longer appear in profile showcases such as Rarest Achievements.
- Steam Trading Cards are not awarded while the game remains private.
The setting is about the game’s visibility and activity. It does not delete your saved progress or achievements from the account; it changes what Steam exposes to other users and services while the title is private.
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What private mode does not hide in multiplayer
Private status is not a guarantee of anonymity inside every multiplayer session. If a private game uses Steam matchmaking, your Steam ID remains visible to other players on the same server. That visibility is required for the multiplayer session and is separate from the profile and activity-feed protections.
If you invite a friend, that friend can see your in-game status until you leave the game or disconnect from Steam so the friend can join. Therefore, private mode prevents the normal profile, feed, and showcase exposure, but it cannot remove identity information that the multiplayer service itself must display.
Private game versus “Hide this game”
These two Library actions solve different problems:
- Mark as Private is a privacy control. Other users cannot see your ownership, playtime, status, or activity for that title, and the game is omitted from relevant profile areas.
- Hide this game is an organizational control. It removes the title from your own Library view so you can keep the list tidy, but it does not make the game private to other people.
A hidden game can still be visible to others if your profile and Game details allow it. Conversely, a private game remains visible to you in your own Library; private does not mean deleted or uninstalled.
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Adjust whole-profile privacy
To change account-wide visibility, open Profile > Edit Profile > Privacy Settings in Steam. The profile-level choices are:
- Public allows the broadest visibility.
- Friends Only limits profile information to Steam friends.
- Private restricts profile information from other users.
Steam saves privacy changes automatically; there is no separate Save button. Profile privacy and per-game privacy are separate, so setting your profile to Friends Only or Private is not required to hide one game, and changing one game to Private does not change the visibility of the rest of your profile.
How Game details affects Steam library comparisons
The Game details dropdown determines whether your game list can be read for comparisons. It is separate from the overall profile setting. You can have a profile that is Public while keeping Game details restricted, in which case a comparison site may still be unable to load your library.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Public | Can read the game list | Generally readable by tools that use Steam’s public data | You want a library comparison site to load your games |
| Friends Only | Can work for authenticated Steam friends | Usually not readable because an external tool is not authenticated as your friend | You want friends to compare while limiting general access |
| Private | Restricted | Not readable through ordinary public access | You do not want the game list exposed |
If a comparison site says it cannot see your games, check Profile > Edit Profile > Privacy Settings > Game details. Set Game details to Public when the service must read your library. If you prefer Friends Only, expect that many third-party tools will still fail because they are not signed in as one of your Steam friends.
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When the tool needs a friend picker
Some comparison features need to load your friends so you can choose whom to compare. Friends list is a separate privacy setting; changing Game details does not automatically expose it. If the tool can read your library but cannot populate a friend picker, review the Friends list setting independently and use the least-open value that supports the feature you need.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Comparing achievements with Steam’s own feature
Steam’s Achievement Sets feature lets you compare your game progress with up to three friends. The comparison can include rare achievements, completed achievement sets, and progress in downloadable-content sets.
Do not assume that two players’ percentages or totals are directly interchangeable. Steam bases each player’s total on the achievements that player can actually earn. Totals can differ when one account owns add-on content that another does not, or when achievements are time-limited or have been archived. A lower total can therefore reflect a different set of eligible achievements rather than less progress in the same set.
If a game is marked private, its achievement activity is hidden from the normal profile and comparison view. To compare that title, you must make the relevant game and account details visible to the people or service performing the comparison.
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Troubleshoot common privacy and comparison problems
Friends still saw that I was playing
- Confirm that you marked the correct title as Private; hiding a Library entry does not provide the same protection.
- Remember the multiplayer exception: players on the same Steam matchmaking server can still see your Steam ID.
- If you invited a friend, that friend may see your in-game status until you exit the game or disconnect from Steam.
An achievement appeared in an activity feed
- Check whether the game was private before the achievement unlocked. Activity generated while it was public may already have been delivered.
- Open the title’s Manage or Properties > Privacy control and verify that it is currently marked Private.
- Check profile showcases separately; a title that is not private can still expose achievement information through showcase areas.
A comparison site cannot see my library
- Open Profile > Edit Profile > Privacy Settings.
- Set Game details to Public if the service relies on public Steam data.
- Check whether the profile itself is Private; a restricted profile can prevent access even when another setting appears open.
- If the service needs a friend picker, review Friends list separately.
- Refresh or reconnect the comparison service after Steam has saved the change automatically.
A private game still appears in my Library
That is expected. Mark as Private hides the title from other users while leaving it visible to you. Use Hide this game as an additional Library-organization step if you do not want to see it in your own Library list.
Trading Cards stopped dropping
Steam does not award Trading Cards while a game is private. If card drops matter more than hiding the title, return the game to a non-private state; doing so also restores the associated visibility described above.
A practical privacy setup
Hide one embarrassing or personal title
- Mark only that game as Private.
- Leave your profile and Game details unchanged if you still want friends or comparison tools to see the rest of your library.
- Remember that the title will not contribute visible activity, showcases, or Trading Card drops while private.
Let a comparison site read your library but hide one game
- Mark the game you do not want exposed as Private.
- Set Game details to Public so the service can read the remaining library.
- Keep Friends list at the narrowest setting that still lets the service select friends, if that feature is required.
Stop external library access entirely
- Set Game details to Private.
- Choose Friends Only or Private for the overall profile, depending on whether Steam friends should retain access.
- Review Friends list separately if you do not want friend relationships exposed.
These combinations let you control scope (one game or the whole profile), audience (everyone, friends, or nobody), and the particular data exposed (ownership, playtime, status, achievements, game list, or friends list) instead of relying on a single all-or-nothing switch.
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