Steam is not just a platform for gaming; it’s a vibrant community where friends connect and share their gaming adventures.
However, amidst this connectivity, the constant flow of notifications can sometimes detract from the gaming experience, pulling you away from those pivotal moments in your game or breaking your concentration if you’re using Steam for more than just play.
Thankfully, Steam provides options to customize or mute these notifications, allowing you to create a peaceful gaming environment tailored to your preferences.
This guide is dedicated to helping you learn how to turn off Steam friend notifications.
Why Turn Off Steam Notifications?
Notifications keep us in the loop about our friends’ gaming activities. However, there are moments when silence is golden. Whether you’re diving deep into a storyline or concentrating on a competitive match, constant notifications can break your flow. Turning them off can be a game-changer, letting you reclaim your gaming space.
How to Turn Off Steam Friend Notifications
There are two ways to turn off Steam friend notifications, depending on which type of notifications you want to disable:
Method 1: Turn Off All Friend Notifications
- Open the Steam client and log into your account.
- Click on the ‘Steam‘ menu in the top left corner, then select ‘Settings‘.
- In the Settings window, navigate to the ‘Notifications‘ tab on the left side.
- Under ‘Friend Notifications‘, toggle off the ‘Show Toast‘ and ‘Play Sound‘ options for each notification type you prefer not to receive. This can include notifications for when a friend comes online, joins a game, sends an invite, or messages you.
- For a broader approach, adjust the setting next to ‘Show Notifications Toasts…‘ to either ‘When I’m not in-game‘ or ‘Never‘ to disable all friend notifications.
Method 2: Turn Off Specific Friend Notifications
- Open the Steam client and sign into your account.
- Click on the ‘Friends & Chat‘ icon located in the bottom right corner.
- Within the Friends & Chat window, click on the ‘Settings‘ gear icon in the top right.
- Choose ‘Notifications‘ from the Friends list settings menu.
- Here, you’ll see various options for different types of friend notifications. You can decide whether to show the notification, play a sound, or neither. It’s also possible to set some notifications to ‘Never‘.
By muting unnecessary notifications, you’ll enjoy uninterrupted gaming sessions. This small adjustment allows for deeper immersion in your games and enhances your overall experience on Steam.
Conclusion
Now you know how to make Steam quieter. This way, you can play or work with fewer interruptions. Steam lets you change these settings anytime, so you can always adjust as you like.