Steam, one of the most popular gaming platforms, allows players to purchase games, connect with friends, earn achievements, and share gaming activity. By default, Steam often displays your recent activities, such as newly played games, unlocked achievements, screenshots, and game purchases, to friends and other users depending on your privacy settings.

While sharing gaming activity can be fun, not everyone wants their friends, followers, or other Steam users to see everything they do on the platform.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to hide your recent activity on Steam, along with additional privacy settings.

Table of Contents

How Does Steam’s Recent Activity Work?

Before changing any settings, it helps to understand what Steam considers “recent activity.”

Your recent activity may include:

Recently played games
Achievement unlocks
Game purchases
Screenshot uploads
Game reviews
Workshop contributions
Profile updates
Hours played
Current game status

Steam automatically displays many of these activities in the activity feed that appears on profiles and in friends’ updates. Depending on your privacy settings, friends and other users may be able to view this information.

If you’d rather keep your gaming activity private, follow the steps below.

How to Hide Your Recent Activity on Steam?

To hide your recent activity on Steam, open the Steam client, click your profile name, select View My Profile, click Edit Profile, choose Privacy Settings, and set Game Details or My Profile to Private or Friends Only. This prevents other users from viewing your recent gaming activity, achievements, playtime, and currently played games, depending on the privacy level you choose.

Step 1: Launch the Steam Application

The first step is opening the Steam client on your computer.

Locate the Steam icon on your desktop, taskbar, or Start menu and launch the application. Wait for Steam to fully load and sign in to your account if you are not already logged in.

After signing in, you will arrive at the Steam home screen. This is where you’ll find your library, store, community features, and profile settings.

If you’re using Steam through a web browser, the process is similar. Simply sign in to your Steam account and access your profile settings from there.

Taking a moment to ensure you’re signed into the correct account is important because privacy settings only apply to the currently logged-in profile.

Step 2: Open Your Steam Profile

Once Steam is open, you’ll need to access your profile page.

Look toward the upper-right area of the Steam window where your account name appears. Click your username to open a drop-down menu.

From the available options, select View My Profile.

Your Steam profile page contains information about your account, including your game library, achievements, screenshots, friends list, badges, and activity feed.

This page also provides access to customization and privacy controls. Since recent activity is connected to your profile visibility, you’ll need to modify settings from here.

Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the profile page before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3: Access the Edit Profile Section

After opening your profile, locate the Edit Profile button.

This button is typically found on the right side of your profile page. Click it to enter the profile customization area.

The Edit Profile section allows you to change numerous aspects of your Steam account, including:

Profile name
Avatar
Profile summary
Background images
Featured showcases
Privacy settings

While many users visit this area to personalize their profiles, it is also the place where Steam stores important privacy controls.

Once the Edit Profile page loads, you’ll see a navigation menu along the left side of the screen.

Step 4: Open Privacy Settings

Within the Edit Profile menu, find and select Privacy Settings.

This section controls who can view different parts of your Steam profile and activity.

Steam divides privacy options into several categories, allowing you to choose exactly what others can see.

Some of the main privacy controls include:

My Profile
Game Details
Friends List
Inventory
Comments

The privacy settings page gives you granular control over your account visibility, making it possible to hide recent activity without completely disabling social features.

Carefully review each option before making changes.

Step 5: Change the Game Details Privacy Setting

The most important setting for hiding recent activity is Game Details.

Under the Game Details section, you’ll typically see several visibility options:

Public
Friends Only
Private

If you choose Private, Steam hides:

Current game activity
Recently played games
Total playtime
Owned games
Achievement progress related to games

This is the most effective option if you want maximum privacy.

If you select Friends Only, only people on your friends list can view this information. Everyone else will be restricted from seeing your gaming activity.

For users who want complete privacy, choosing Private is usually the best solution.

Once selected, Steam automatically saves the setting.

Step 6: Adjust Your Profile Visibility

If you want even greater privacy, consider changing the My Profile setting as well.

The My Profile option determines who can access your overall Steam profile.

When set to Private, most profile information becomes hidden from other users.

This includes:

Activity feeds
Profile details
Achievements
Game information
Friend-related data

Visitors attempting to view your profile will see very limited information.

Many users combine a Private Profile with Private Game Details to ensure maximum privacy across their Steam account.

If your goal is simply to hide recent activity while still allowing friends to see your profile, choose Friends Only instead.

Step 7: Disable Visibility of Your Currently Played Game

Steam includes a special privacy feature that allows you to hide your current game status.

Even if someone can see parts of your profile, you may not want them to know what game you’re playing at any given moment.

By setting Game Details to Private, Steam automatically prevents others from seeing your active gaming session.

This means your profile will no longer display messages such as:

Currently in-game
Playing now
Recently played

For many users, this is one of the biggest benefits of adjusting Steam privacy settings.

Step 8: Review Additional Privacy Options

While hiding recent activity, it’s worth reviewing other privacy controls available on Steam.

You can also manage the visibility of:

Friends List
Inventory Items
Screenshots
Comments
Workshop Content
Groups
Badges

For example, if you frequently trade items, you may want to make your inventory private. Likewise, if you upload screenshots regularly, you can control who can view them.

Customizing these settings helps create a privacy setup that matches your preferences.

Remember that privacy isn’t always all-or-nothing. Steam allows you to choose different visibility levels for different sections of your account.

Step 9: Verify That Your Activity Is Hidden

After adjusting your privacy settings, it’s a good idea to verify the changes.

Open a browser in private mode or ask a trusted friend to view your profile.

Check whether:

Recent games are hidden
Playtime information is unavailable
Current game status is concealed
Achievements are restricted
Activity feed visibility is reduced

If the profile appears the way you intended, the setup is complete.

Testing your privacy settings helps ensure there are no unexpected visibility issues.

Hide Specific Games on Steam

Sometimes you don’t want to hide all activity. Instead, you may want to conceal specific games from your profile.

Steam now allows users to mark certain games as private.

To do this, open your Steam library, locate the game you want to hide, right-click it, select Manage, and choose the option to mark the game as private if available in your Steam version.

This prevents selected games from appearing in many public-facing areas of your profile.

It’s a useful option for users who only want to hide certain titles while keeping the rest of their gaming activity visible.

Tips to Avoid Mistakes to Avoid

Many users believe that setting their profile to Friends Only automatically hides everything. However, some information may still be visible depending on other settings.

Another common mistake is forgetting to adjust the Game Details setting. Even if your profile visibility changes, game activity may remain accessible unless Game Details is configured correctly.

Some users also forget to review inventory and screenshot visibility, leaving portions of their account publicly accessible.

Taking a few extra minutes to review every privacy option can help avoid these issues.

FAQs

Does Steam notify friends when I hide my activity?

No. Steam does not send notifications when you change privacy settings or hide your recent activity.

Can I hide my currently played game on Steam?

Yes. Setting Game Details to Private prevents other users from seeing the game you’re currently playing.

Will hiding activity remove past activity from Steam?

Hiding activity changes what others can see going forward. Previously generated activity may become inaccessible depending on your privacy settings.

Can friends still see my games if my profile is private?

If both your profile and Game Details are set to Private, friends generally cannot see your game information.

Is it possible to hide only certain games?

Yes. Steam offers options to make specific games private, allowing you to hide selected titles without hiding your entire gaming library.

Does hiding Steam activity affect gameplay?

No. Privacy settings only affect visibility. They do not impact gameplay, achievements, downloads, cloud saves, or multiplayer features.

Can I change my privacy settings back later?

Yes. You can modify your Steam privacy settings at any time by returning to the Privacy Settings page.