Steam offers a convenient “Mark as Private” option that allows users tohide individual games from their profile, activity feeds, achievements, playtime, and even Family Sharing libraries.
This gives granular privacy control making a game appear as if you don’t own it at all without needing to lock down your entire account or profile.
The feature is especially useful for keeping certain titles secret from friends, family members, or the public while still enjoying multiplayer invites or selective sharing.
What Marking a Game as Private Actually Does
When you mark a game private:
- It vanishes from your Steam profile’s owned games list.
- No activity shows in feeds (e.g., “playing X” doesn’t appear publicly).
- Achievements, playtime, and in game status are completely hidden.
- The game is excluded from Family Sharing, family members can’t see or play it via your shared library.
- You can still invite friends to multiplayer sessions, they’ll see your activity only in their personal friend list, not broadly.
Important caveats:
- You can’t earn Steam Trading Cards while playing a private game.
- Local network file transfers for downloads/updates may not work.
- Friends might still gift you the same game since it looks unowned.
- Private status applies universally no exceptions for specific friends or family.
This ties into Steam Families (the updated system replacing old Family Sharing and Family View), where privacy settings carry over for household sharing.
How to Mark a Game as Private
You have a few easy ways to do it:
- In the Steam Client (Library)
Right-click the game → Select Manage → Choose Mark as Private. - Via Steam Website (No Client Needed)
Visit your Steam Community Profile → Go to your games list → Find the game and mark it private there. - During Purchase (Prevent Immediate Visibility)
In your shopping cart, before checkout, select the option to mark the game as private it hides ownership right from acquisition.
To unmark: Repeat the steps and select Unmark as Private (or similar toggle).
Steam’s privacy tools help balance social features like inviting friends with personal discretion perfect for surprises, sensitive titles, or just keeping a low profile. For official details, check Steam Support’s Private Games FAQ.
