How to Share Steam with Friends

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To share Steam with friends, you can use the Family Library Sharing feature, which allows you to share your Steam library with up to 5 accounts and play games on up to 10 devices, by first enabling Steam Guard security via Steam > Settings > Account, then enabling the sharing feature via Settings > Family, where you’ll also authorize specific computers and users to share. You can also use Remote Play Together to play games with friends online, by launching your game, opening your Steam Overlay in-game, and selecting ‘Remote Play Together’ from your friends list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sharing Games and Accounts

1. How do I share my Steam account with friends?: You can share your Steam account with friends by using the Family Library Sharing feature, which allows you to share your Steam library with up to 5 accounts and play games on up to 10 devices.
2. How do I let someone borrow a game on Steam?: To enable Family Library Sharing, first be sure you have Steam Guard security enabled via Steam > Settings > Account, then enable the sharing feature via Settings > Family, where you’ll also authorize specific computers and users to share.
3. Can you play Steam games on 2 different computers at the same time?: Yes, you can sign into the same Steam account on multiple computers, however only one session may be active at a time.

Adding Friends and Social Features

4. How do I add friends on Steam without paying $5?: You can add friends on Steam without paying $5 by searching the Steam community for the person you want to add, creating an invite link and sharing it with them, linking your Facebook profile so you can find friends on Steam, or adding friends on Steam using a friend’s code.
5. What is the $5 dollar rule on Steam?: The $5 rule on Steam is a restriction that requires users to spend at least $5.00 USD in Steam to access certain community features, in order to make it more difficult for malicious users to spam, scam, and phish other users.
6. How do I get a Steam friend code without paying?: You can get a Steam friend code without paying by going to your profile tab and then heading over to the friends section, then simply going to the add a friend section, where you can see friend codes and quick invites.

Sharing and Gifting Games

7. How do I share games on Steam and play at the same time?: You can share games on Steam and play at the same time using Steam Family Sharing, which allows you to share your Steam library with up to 5 accounts and play games on up to 10 devices.
8. Can you send a Steam gift card without being friends?: No, you and your friend must both have Steam accounts and you’ll need to be friends on Steam to purchase a Steam digital gift card.
9. How to send someone $10 dollars on Steam?: You can send someone $10 on Steam by logging into Steam, selecting a Steam Friend and a gift amount, and Steam will do the rest.

Steam Settings and Security

10. How do I set up a Steam link?: You can set up a Steam Link by turning on your home PC, launching Steam, and logging in, then powering your Steam Link with the power adapter, plugging in to a display device, and connecting to your home network.
11. Why is Steam share not working?: If Steam share is not working, try closing Steam and reopening it, navigating to the device management page, clicking manage family library sharing and removing the device that isn’t working, and letting the problematic computer or device send a request to re-join the library or game.
12. How do I get Steam guard?: You can enable Steam Guard in Steam Settings by clicking on “Steam” in the top left hand corner of the client, selecting “Settings“, “Security” tab and clicking “Manage Steam Guard“.

Steam Games and Offline Mode

13. What Steam game is worth $500,000?: The most expensive game on Steam is MEGAJUMP, which was initially offered at $502,634 USD, an absurdly high price, as an experiment to test Steam’s price limit.
14. Can you get banned for Steam sharing?: Yes, your Family Library Sharing privileges may be revoked and your account may also be VAC banned if your library is used by others to conduct cheating or fraud.
15. Does Steam share work offline?: Steam share can work offline, but if a game requires you to be online, only one of the people sharing the account can play at a time, and in an offline mode, one of the people sharing the account must be connected to the internet so that the most recent data gets saved onto the game.