How to Share Steam Friends in Steam Family Sharing

Steam's library sharing characteristic is user-friendly, but has some drawbacks.

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With its no-strings-fastened approach and a frequent sales, Steam -- Valve'due south digital gaming distribution service --  makes it easy for gamers to build up sizable gaming libraries. Unlikegame subscription services (Xbox Game Laissez passer,Apple tree Arcade,Google Play Pass), you lot tin purchase individual games on Steam without a monthly commitment.

Another perk? Steam Family unit Sharing lets you share your game library with others. Fifty-fifty though this feature is aimed at helping parents distribute and monitor what their kids play, it also lets you lend games to your friends. Here'south a step-by-step guide on how to share your Steam library.

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Protect your business relationship by enabling Steam Guard

Safeguarding your game library should be your top priority. This mode, even if you share your account, everything will still exist protected and within your control. To do that, you need to enable Steam Guard. Steam Guard -- which is costless to plow on -- provides an boosted level of security that protects your account from unauthorized access.

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Here's how to enable Steam Baby-sit on your business relationship with the desktop app or in browser:

1. Get to Steam'southward homepage and make sure y'all're logged in.

2. In the upper right corner, click your username.

3. In the drop-down menu, click Business relationship Details.

4. Gyre downwardly to Account Security and click Manage Steam Guard.

Enabling Steam Guard can help protect your business relationship, even if you don't share it.

Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

From there, you can choose between having Steam Guard codes sent to your phone or email, or you tin turn Steam Baby-sit off entirely. Y'all'll also come across the option to deauthorize all other computers or devices other than the 1 you're currently using that might take saved your login information. Steam recommends sending Guard codes to your phone as a form of 2-factor authentication.

Sending codes to your phone provides an additional level of security on your account.

Screenshot past Shelby Brown/CNET

Share your Steam game library

Log into your family member or friend's computer with your Steam business relationship to get started. You lot can practice this from your app, here'south how:

1. In the top left corner, clickSteam.

2. Select Settings (on Windows) or Preferences(on Mac) from the drop-downwards menu.

3. SelectFamilyin the side carte

4. Click the box that saysAuthorize Library Sharing on this estimator.

Y'all can authorize library sharing in the Steam app.

Screenshot past Shelby Chocolate-brown/CNET

This gives you the option to authorize whatsoever accounts that have too logged into the same computer. If no one else has, y'all'll get a bulletin saying "No other local accounts found." Afterwards this is consummate, log out of your account and your friend or family member can log back into theirs. They should at present have the ability to download and install select games from your library.

You can select up to five users who can access and utilise your library beyond x devices that you've authorized. While y'all tin't set up Family Sharing in a browser, y'all can cheque which devices and accounts have admission to your Steam Library. You tin also revoke access.

Here'south how to cheque in the Steam app:

1. In the upper correct corner, click your username.

2.In the drop-down menu, clickAccount Details.

iii. Whorl down to Family Settings and clickManage Family Library Sharing.

iv.If any accounts or devices have admission that you lot no longer wish to, you canclick Revoke under Sharing Status.

Checking in a browser is essentially the same, once you log into the Steam site:

1. Go to Steam's homepage and make certain you lot're logged in.

2. In the upper correct corner, click your username.

3. In the drop-downwards carte du jour, clickBusiness relationship Details.

4. Curlicue down to Family unit Settings and click Manage Family Library Sharing.

five. If any accounts or devices have admission that y'all no longer wish to, you tin can click Revoke nether Sharing Status.

Pros of sharing your gaming library with Steam Family unit Sharing

• Sharing your games with others.
• Being able to try out games when your family unit or friends share their account with you.
• Parents can have a bit more control over games their younger children may play.
• Easy to view and revoke access to who has admission to your library.
• Gives the user you're sharing with a chance to try a game without investing coin right away.

Cons of sharing your gaming library with Steam Family Sharing

• Steam's sharing features aren't perfect.
• Merely five accounts can access your gaming library from up to ten unlike computers.
• Yous need an cyberspace connection to admission the shared libraries.
• Libraries tin only exist shared in their entirety.
• Some games don't qualify for sharing considering they require a subscription.
• Shared games can only be accessed past one person at a time, then you lot won't be able to hands play games together.
• The account holder has priority access to their games. If yous first playing a game while another person is already playing, they'll have the option to buy the game or end the session.

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Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/share-your-steam-library-with-friends/