How to make steam stop brodcasting what game I am playing.

[landonaaronp]

I have my profile set to private, yet just yesterday I discovered my wife was still getting notifications everytime I opened a steam game. Which is fine with her, as her computer is in the same room as mine, and its not exactly who I am worried about seeing my steam activity. Who I don't want seeing my steam activity is my employer, my parents, etc.

Its none of their ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ business what games I am playing or how often, and I would like it disabled. How can I do that?

[eram]

Every user has options to alert them when friends come online. If you dont want your employer and parents to see you going on and offline and what games you are playing youll have to remove them from your friends list.

[StickyPawz]

You can work around this if you create yourself a new, super-secret account that's set to private and ONLY friended with your main ... Then use family share for gaming on it and no one is the wiser.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

The specific request of the OP is not currently a feature, but it would be nice if it were.

[landonaaronp]

Mittenz, your suggestion sounds like the best option. I just set Steam to not login to Friends automatically, so I think that should stop the pop-up notifications, but I already had my account profile set to private, and apparently that doesn't actually make what you do on steam private, it just make the profile summary page private. So I am still kind of skeptical if not signing into friends will actually stop them from seeing my activity or if it will just stop me from seeing theirs.

I am not familiar with the family share option, I will have to look into it.

[lucifur]

I know this is an old post but just using me as a billboard to advertise to my friends makes me feel gross. No privacy? What next, search my phone for ♥♥♥♥ pics?

[SeriousCCIE]

I too would like a means of suppressing notifications to select people. There was an incident where a friend of mine took the day off, logged in and played games on his home computer, and word got to HR at his employer because one of the people he works with was LOGGED IN AT WORK and reported him for playing games during the day and took screen shots of the guy being in game and stuff.

That guy that reported him was one of those "must include in friends list to not create enemies at work because politics" sorts of things.

He unfriended the guy after that, due to how everyone reacted poorly as opposed to, you know, check to see if he was actually scheduled to work that day. And who wants to be even remotely connected to a guy that rats on you while on the same service and no one thought that itself to be a problem?

Anyway, it would be wonderful if there was a selective suppression available for accounts to actively block any notifications at all to people, if only to serve as a means to avoid embarassing situations due to ignorance and workplace dynamics.

Everyone seems to have learned too late not to friend everyone who asks, but it can be quite challenging when the people requesting it from you know you are part of the system and you'd get harassed about why until you acquiese or otherwise can't get the requestor to grow up and accept the rejection like an adult (and then not be tempted to cause problems at work as well... or in the family or whatever). But that will never happen, which is why privacy features on the internet are just as important as security features...

[编码规范]

I guess you can set your friend list offline? not Steam client but that friend panel at the right bottom corner of your steam client. I'm not sure if this block the notifications when you start a game, but since I go offline myself I never receive any notifications when my friends start playing. so I guess vice versa they cannot see you either.

[ashy]

yet steam logs in randomly and blows my cover off

[greenunicorns]

The fact that this easily implemented feature is missing is yet another reason to always try gog before steam before buying a game.

[Hodman]

Originally posted by greenunicorns:

The fact that this easily implemented feature is missing is yet another reason to always try gog before steam before buying a game.

It was missing when this thread was created 2 years ago.

Go to your profile > edit > privacy settings > game details > private

[Dreams]

Originally posted by Hodman:

Originally posted by greenunicorns:

The fact that this easily implemented feature is missing is yet another reason to always try gog before steam before buying a game.

It was missing when this thread was created 2 years ago.

Go to your profile > edit > privacy settings > game details > private

this helped a lot. thank you ^.^

[Tobias Cook]

Okay so now none of my friends can see the games I own, my wishlist, achievements or playtime.... all because I don't want it broadcasted when I'm starting a game.

Why the hell isn't this just an individual feature?

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by Tobias Cook:

Okay so now none of my friends can see the games I own, my wishlist, achievements or playtime.... all because I don't want it broadcasted when I'm starting a game.

Why the hell isn't this just an individual feature?

You can just make yourself invisible on the friends feature. Though that means they can't see when you're online.

[G_Dynamics]

I can't believe this "feature" is not optional in the first place.
I spent 20 minutes going through every settings screen because I refused to believe it wasn't just a check box somewhere I am missing.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? HOW IS THIS NOT A FEATURE YET?? IN THIS DAY AND AGE?!!

SUPER DISAPPOINTED, THANKS FOR A USELESS UPDATE EVERY OTHER DAY, I'M SURE YOU CAN'T SQUEEZE THIS FEATURE IN. ABSOLUTE SHAME!!!

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Oh, I just remembered, here's a roundabout solution:

1. Sign out of friends list in the Steam client.
2. Open up a webchat window.