How to Turn Off Steam Notifications? Here's A Quick Tutorial

There are a few ways to turn off Steam notifications, depending on what exactly you want to stop appearing. If it's new releases and game updates, you'll have to open the Steam settings menu, click on Interface, and then uncheck the box asking you if you want game alerts. But if you only want to stop Steam friends notifications, you will have to go to the Friends & Chat menu, hit Friends, and then turn off the Notifications option.

I don't mind Steam notifications, except for Friend Notifications. I don't see a point in Steam telling me whenever someone in my friends list joins a new game. I usually disable this so that I don't get distracted, especially when I'm busy.

Not only did I run through how I do this, but all the other ways to turn Steam notifications off, and even additional information on the topic.

Sound good?

How to Turn Off Steam Notifications?

As mentioned, there are a few ways to turn Steam notifications off. If you're wondering, yes, they are the same on both Windows and Mac computers.

1. Disable Steam Notifications For Game Updates

If you're not a fan of notifications coming in about upcoming releases, new updates, or any changes to the games in your library, there's a way to disable this.

Here's what you do:

• Launch the Steam client
• Sign into your account if you aren't logged in already
• Click on the Steam button from the top left corner
• Click on the Settings menu button from the top menu bar
• Go to Interface
• Disable the Notify me about additions or changes to my games, new releases, and upcoming releases checkbox
• Click on the Ok button at the bottom to confirm

2. Disable Screenshot Notifications

I personally am not a fan of Steam notifying me whenever I take screenshots in-game. I think it adds a lot of clutter to my screen. If you also think like this, here's how you can disable this Steam notification:

• Go to the Settings Menu that I mentioned earlier
• Select In Game
• Look at the options under the 'When a Screenshot is taken' on the right-hand side
• Remove all the checks on the boxes that are underneath it
• Click on the Ok button that's on the bottom of the screen to confirm the change

3. Disable Music Notifications

Whenever new tracks play while you game, you get a notification on your screen. I'd understand if you'd want it to stop popping up. Here's how you can do this:

• Go to the Settings menu like the above two
• Click on the Music button that is towards the bottom of the list
• Uncheck the 'When a Track Begins' option that is underneath the Display A Notification part of the screen (in the left corner)
• Click on the Ok button at the bottom to confirm the changes

4. How to Disable Achievement Notifications?

Steam notifies of you any game achievements that you unlock, like when you reach an important boss. Although it can be useful, as you can miss these badges, the notifications can be distracting as they pop up mid-game. To get rid of this, you can do the following:

• Launch the Steam client, and then go to the In Game menu
• Untick any boxes that are next to the Enable the Steam Overlay While In-Game checkbox
• Press OK to save the changes

Instead of stopping the overlay feature on all games, you can disable it on specific titles. Here's how:

• Open the Steam client and then click on the Library button
• Find the specific game that you want to mute overlay on
• Right click it
• Select the Properties button
• Press General
• Disable the 'Enable the Steam Overlay While In Game' checkbox
• Exit the menu and then confirm the change once you do

5. How to Disable Message Notifications From Steam Friends?

Whenever a friend joins a game, or texts you, you get a notification on your screen. Just like the above options, you can also disable this if you want. Here's what you do:

• Open the Steam client
• Click the Friends & Chat icon from the bottom right corner
• Press the Settings button
• Wait for the Friends List Settings flash window to open
• Select the Notifications option
• Click on the Play a Sound button
• Uncheck all the boxes on the screen (there should be 10 in total)
• Tap on the Never button on the bottom

Click on the Exit button finally and then confirm the changes

FAQ

Answered below are some popular questions.

1. How Do You Hide Your Steam Activity?

Your Steam activity will tell everyone who's added you what game you're playing, and the last thing that you played. Although it can be useful, this might not be something that you're comfortable with other users knowing. So, here's how you turn your Steam activity off:

• Launch Steam, and then hover your mouse over your username
• Click on the View My Profile button
• Click on the Edit Profile option
• Tap on the Privacy Settings option, and then select the Game Details button
• Choose the Public option
• Set the option to Private, and then confirm and exit

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Final Thoughts

There are quite a few ways to disable Steam notifications. None of them are too hard, and they are all the same regardless if you're using a Mac or Windows computer. While discussing how to turn off notifications on Steam, I also touched on how to manage your Steam account better.

Hopefully, you found all of the points that were run through useful.