Valve has announced an expansion of privacy options for Steam, its online store and platform for PC games. The update gives players more control over what others can see, including the ability to hide individual games from everyone, even from friends on Steam. The company described the change as part of a broader effort to let players decide how much of their library and activity should be visible.
Valve explains that users will still own all games in their library, and most of the visible activity will be adjustable. The key is that players can keep the general library visible to friends who want to see what they’re playing and possibly join in, while restricting visibility for specific titles. This makes it possible to maintain a social presence on Steam without exposing details about particular games.
The privacy feature is currently rolling out to Steam beta testers. It lets a gamer mark a game as private in multiple spots: the shopping cart, the library in the web version of Steam accessible through a browser, and within the Steam desktop or mobile app. This gives users flexibility to manage visibility whether they are browsing, planning purchases, or playing on different devices.
Alongside the privacy enhancements, the beta opens a new option for gifting. Players can add gift games to a cart that can be shared with several friends at once. Steam has also introduced a shared shopping cart that works across different devices, making it easier to coordinate purchases for groups of friends or family members who use Steam on various platforms.
Valve’s approach underscores a growing emphasis on user sovereignty over personal data on game platforms. The company suggests these controls are designed to keep a gamer’s library approachable to peers while preserving privacy around individual titles and related activity. As the Steam ecosystem evolves, the boundaries between social interaction and personal privacy appear to be shifting toward greater flexibility for each user. Observers note that such updates can influence how players discover, discuss, and purchase games across personal networks and devices. In this light, Steam continues to balance social visibility with privacy features to support a broader and more comfortable user experience for players in North America and beyond.
In addition to these changes, Valve has indicated that the privacy options will be refined based on ongoing feedback from the Steam community. The company has historically prioritized user empowerment and transparency, aiming to offer clear controls without complicating the core Steam experience. Users who join the beta can expect further updates as Valve tests the practicality of these settings across different languages and regions and over time, the company intends to align privacy options with how players actually use the platform in real-world scenarios. The overall trajectory signals a platform that values flexible visibility and a smoother process for managing gifts and cross-device shopping while keeping individual game data shielded when desired.
As Steam continues to expand its privacy toolkit, players should review their own settings to determine how much information they want to share with friends, followers, or the broader Steam community. The beta notes suggest that most of the library remains visible to acquaintances, enabling social discovery and collaborative gameplay, while the new controls provide a shield for specific titles and activities. This dual approach helps users stay connected without feeling exposed, a balance increasingly sought by gamers in Canada and the United States as they navigate the evolving landscape of digital gaming and social features on major platforms.