What Steam Family Sharing does
Steam Family Sharing lets you share your game library with up to five other people on your account. When you turn it on, anyone in your household can download and play the games you own on a shared computer, and you can play your games on a different computer at the same time. You stay the owner of the account — the people you share with cannot buy games, change settings, or access your personal information.
The key limit is that only one person can play a shared game at a time. If you are playing a game from your library, nobody else can launch that same game until you stop. Other games in the library stay available to them. This is how Steam prevents one purchase from becoming a free copy for everyone.
Steam Family Sharing is different from a shared Steam account. You do not give anyone your password. Instead, you authorize their computer and their account separately, and Steam handles the rest.
Key Takeaways
- Steam Family Sharing requires you to authorize a specific computer and a specific person's Steam account, not share your password.
- Only one person can play any single game at the same time, even if multiple people have access to your library.
- The person you share with can play on their own account and their own computer, not logged in as you.
- You can remove access to a computer or person at any time, and Steam will revoke their ability to play your games immediately.
- Steam may ask you to confirm your identity if you sign in from a new location, which can temporarily block shared access.
How to set up Family Sharing on your computer
Start by opening Steam on the computer where you want to share your games. Go to Settings (the gear icon in the top right), then select Family from the left menu. You will see an option that says Authorize Library Sharing on this device. Click it.
Steam will ask you to sign in with your account if you are not already signed in. After you do, the setting turns on. You will see a message that says family members can now download and play your games on this computer. Leave this computer signed in to your account — Steam needs it to stay logged in for sharing to work.
If you want to share on a second computer, repeat these steps on that computer. You can authorize up to 10 computers total, though only one can be your "primary" device at a time.
How the other person sets up their account
The person you are sharing with needs to have their own Steam account. They do not need to own any games. On the computer where you authorized sharing, they should open Steam and sign in with their own account and password — not yours.
Once they are signed in, they can see your entire game library in their Steam client under the Library tab. They download and launch games the same way they would if they owned them. When they start a game, Steam checks whether you are currently playing it. If you are, they get a message saying the game is in use and they have to wait.
They can only play on the computer where you authorized sharing. If they want to play on a different computer, you need to authorize that computer too.
What happens when you are away from home
If you travel or sign in to Steam from a new location, Steam may ask you to confirm your identity before letting you play. This is a security check. During this time, anyone using shared access on your authorized computers cannot play — Steam temporarily blocks the library to protect your account.
The block usually lasts a few hours. You can speed it up by confirming your identity through email or the Steam mobile app. Once you confirm, shared access turns back on immediately.
This is why it matters that you stay signed in on the computer where you authorized sharing. If you sign out and then sign back in from a different location, the confirmation delay happens again.
Removing someone's access or turning off sharing
Go back to Settings > Family and you will see a list of accounts and computers you have authorized. Click the X next to any account or computer name to remove them. Access stops immediately — they cannot play any of your games anymore, even if they are in the middle of a game.
If you want to turn off Family Sharing entirely, click Disable Family Library Sharing at the bottom of the Family settings page. This removes access for everyone and turns off the feature on all your authorized computers.
Things that can go wrong and how to fix them
If someone cannot see your games in their library, check that you actually authorized the computer and their account in your Family settings. Sometimes the authorization does not take effect immediately — wait a few minutes and have them restart Steam.
If they can see the games but cannot launch them, you might be playing one of those games on your account. They have to wait until you stop. If you are not playing anything, restart Steam on both computers.
If Steam keeps asking you to confirm your identity and blocking shared access, you may have turned on Steam Guard (two-factor authentication). This is a security feature, and it causes the temporary blocks. You can reduce how often it happens by confirming your identity on the computer where you authorized sharing, so Steam recognizes it as a trusted device.
When Family Sharing does not work for your situation
Family Sharing only works on computers, not on phones or tablets. If you want to play Steam games on a mobile device, you need a different tool like Steam Link (which streams games from your computer) or Steam Deck (Valve's handheld gaming device).
Some games have restrictions on sharing. A few titles, especially early-access games or games with strong online components, do not allow Family Sharing at all. When you look at a game's store page, you can check the Legal section to see if it has sharing restrictions.
If you are sharing with someone outside your household, Steam's terms say Family Sharing is meant for family members living in the same home. Steam does not actively police this, but if the account owner travels frequently or signs in from many locations, the identity confirmation blocks become more common and can make sharing unreliable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the person I share with buy games on my account?
No. They see your library and can download and play your games, but they cannot make purchases, change account settings, or access your payment information. They can only buy games on their own account with their own money.
What if we both want to play the same game at the same time?
One of you has to wait. Steam only allows one person to play any single game at a time from a shared library. You can both play different games from the same library at the same time, but not the same one.
Do they need their own computer to use Family Sharing?
No. They can play on the same computer where you authorized sharing, as long as they sign in with their own Steam account. You both cannot play at the same time on the same computer, but you can take turns.
Will they lose access if I change my password?
No. Changing your password does not affect Family Sharing. They stay signed in with their own account, not yours. If you think someone has unauthorized access to your account, change your password and then remove them from your Family settings.
Can I share my games with someone who lives far away?
Technically yes, but it becomes unreliable. Steam is designed for household sharing. If you sign in from many different locations, Steam's security checks block shared access more often. The person you share with will experience frequent interruptions.