The fastest way to add someone on Steam

To add a friend on Steam, open the Steam client and click your username in the top right corner, then select "Friends" from the dropdown menu. Click the "Add a Friend" button, enter their username or the email address tied to their account, and click "Add as Friend". They will receive a notification and can accept or decline your request.

If you know their profile URL instead of their username, you can navigate directly to their profile page and click the "Add Friend" button there. Either method sends the same friend request — they just choose different starting points.

The person you add will see your request in their notifications and can respond whenever they want. Until they accept, you won't see them in your active friends list, though you can still view their public profile if they have made it visible.

Key Takeaways

  • You can add friends by username, email address, or by visiting their profile directly and clicking "Add Friend".
  • Friend requests sit in the recipient's notifications until they accept or decline — you won't appear in their friends list until they respond.
  • You can organize accepted friends into custom groups and adjust what each person can see on your profile.
  • If someone declines your request or blocks you, you can send another request later, but Steam limits how often you can do this.

Finding someone's username or profile link

If you only know someone's real name or a nickname they use outside Steam, you will need their actual Steam username or profile URL to send a request. The easiest way is to ask them directly for their profile link — they can copy it from their own profile page by right-clicking their username and selecting "Copy Profile URL".

You can also search for them using the search box at the top of the Steam client, but results are limited if their profile is private. If their profile is public, you can browse their games, screenshots, and activity. If it is private, you will only see their username and avatar.

Some people share their Steam profile link on Discord, Reddit, or other platforms. If you find a link that looks like steamcommunity.com/profiles/[numbers] or steamcommunity.com/id/[username], you can paste it directly into your browser and click "Add Friend" from their profile page.

What happens after you send a friend request

Once you send a request, the other person will see it in their notifications. They can accept it immediately, ignore it, or decline it. If they accept, you both appear in each other's friends lists and can see each other's online status, game activity, and shared games.

If they decline, the request disappears from their notifications. You can send another request after some time has passed, but Steam prevents you from spamming the same person with repeated requests in a short window. If you try to add someone too many times in a row, Steam will temporarily block you from sending them more requests.

If someone blocks you, you cannot send them a friend request at all. You also will not see their profile, and they will not see yours. Blocking is different from declining — it is a stronger privacy measure.

Organizing friends into groups

Once you have accepted friends, you can sort them into custom groups to keep your list organized. Right-click a friend's name in your friends list and select "Move to Group", then choose an existing group or create a new one. Common groups include "Close Friends", "Gaming Group", "Work", or any category that makes sense for how you interact with them.

Groups are private — your friends cannot see which group you have placed them in. You can also collapse or expand groups to hide friends you do not want to see at a glance. This is useful if you have a large friends list and want to focus on specific people.

You can move friends between groups at any time, and a single friend can only be in one group. If you want to remove someone from a group without unfriending them, you can create a default group or move them back to your main list.

Controlling what friends can see on your profile

By default, your friends can see your game library, playtime, achievements, and activity. You can change this by opening your profile, clicking the dropdown arrow next to your name, and selecting "Profile". Scroll down to "Privacy Settings" and adjust what friends can view.

You can set your game library to private so friends cannot see what you own, hide your playtime, or make your profile completely private so only you can see it. You can also choose to show your activity to friends, the public, or no one. These settings apply to all friends equally — you cannot hide information from one friend but show it to another.

If you want to prevent a specific friend from seeing your activity without unfriending them, you will need to make your profile private for everyone. Alternatively, you can unfriend them and then re-add them later if your relationship changes.

Removing or blocking friends

To remove a friend, right-click their name in your friends list and select "Remove Friend". This removes them from your list, but they can still send you a new friend request later. Removing someone is not the same as blocking them.

To block someone, visit their profile and click the three-dot menu button, then select "Block User". A blocked person cannot send you friend requests, see your profile, or contact you through Steam. You can unblock them at any time by visiting your blocked users list in your account settings.

If someone is harassing you or you want to prevent them from contacting you permanently, blocking is the stronger option. If you just want to clean up your friends list but might want to reconnect later, removing them is sufficient.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add someone if their profile is private?

Yes. A private profile does not prevent friend requests — it only hides their game library and activity from people who are not already their friends. You can still send a request to anyone as long as you have their username or profile link, and they can accept or decline it.

What if someone sends me a friend request and I do not recognize them?

You can accept, decline, or ignore the request. If you ignore it, the request stays in your notifications but does not add them to your list. You can also visit their profile to see their games, screenshots, and activity before deciding. If you think they are a bot or spammer, you can decline and block them.

Can I see if someone declined my friend request?

No. Steam does not notify you when someone declines a request — it simply disappears from your outgoing requests. You will only know they declined if you check your sent requests list and notice they are no longer there, or if you try to add them again and see that you have already sent a request.

Do I need to be friends with someone to play a game together?

No. You can join a game session with anyone through an invite link or by searching for their server, even if you are not friends. However, being friends makes it easier to see when they are online and what they are playing, so you can join their games more quickly.

Can I add multiple people at once?

No. Steam requires you to send friend requests one at a time. If you want to add a group of people, you will need to send each request individually through the "Add a Friend" button or by visiting their profiles.