Steam, the leading DLC platform for PC players, recently released its new Beta Update, and some players noticed a big change. It’s now possible to hide games from your profile, which raises some important questions about user privacy.
The update adds a new “Private Mode” feature to Steam, allowing users to hide any games from their profiles. This feature gives the user more control over what is seen by other people, but also enables them to hide games from their purchase list.
The implications of the new feature go beyond hiding embarrassing games from public view. It also raises questions of potential privacy breaches. For example, it could be possible for malicious users to purchase games for others and hide them, in order to gain access to personal information without the target player being aware.
Fortunately, Valve has taken some steps to address the issue. Before users can hide a game from their accounts, they must go through an authorization process with a two-factor authentication. This limits the chances of malicious buyers from using the feature to their advantage.
The new privacy feature can be enabled or disabled at any time, and is not permanent. After the feature is enabled, Steam shows a flag in the game list depicting the game as “hidden”, allowing users to easily monitor their own privacy settings.
The new update also provides a way to view the hidden games. For users who have enabled the feature, there is an option to view the games, as long as they have permission to view the games. This way, players can still see the games on their profile, but they remain hidden from public view.
The new privacy feature is an important step in protecting user privacy on the Steam platform. While it’s still important to be mindful of what you share with others, this new feature offers some peace of mind. If you want to stay safe on Steam, and hide your games from others users, the new beta update is a great way to do that.