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No—not through any player-facing Steam setting documented by Valve. Steam lets you hide playtime from other people, either for one game or across parts of your profile, but those privacy controls do not change the hours Steam has recorded. If a total looks wrong, contact Steam Support; its public guidance reviewed here does not say whether Support can correct a mistaken record.
Can you change the hours Steam has recorded?
Steam’s documented controls do not offer a way to edit a game’s recorded playtime. They control who can see the information, not the underlying total. Steamworks documentation describes statistics and achievements as game features, but does not document a player-facing setting for changing recorded hours: Steamworks Documentation: Stats and Achievements.
If you believe the displayed time is an error, you can contact Steam Support. The public Steam guidance cited here does not establish whether Support can manually adjust a playtime record, so a correction is not guaranteed.
How to hide playtime for one game
Steam Support documents three ways to mark a game private. In the Steam client, the client must be online and connected to Steam to use the privacy option.
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- From the Steam client: open the game’s page or Library entry, open its Manage menu, and select the option to mark it private. Steam also documents the route through the game’s Properties > Privacy settings.
- From a browser: open your Steam Community profile, go to your games list, and use the privacy control for the game.
- Before buying: mark the game private from the shopping cart before completing the purchase.
Steam says: “Marking a game as private hides your ownership, in-game status, playtime, and activity in that game.” See Steam Support: Steam Private Games for its current instructions.
How to make more of your profile private
For broader visibility controls, open your Steam profile, choose Edit Profile, then Privacy Settings. Choose a profile privacy state—Public, Friends Only, or Private—and adjust the available profile categories as needed. Steam says changes save automatically. The current steps and settings are listed in Steam Support: Steam Profile Privacy.
Profile-wide privacy affects the visibility of profile information more broadly; marking one game private targets that game’s ownership, status, playtime, and activity. Neither option edits the tracked hours.
Private game vs. hidden Library game
These options solve different problems:
- Private game: conceals that game’s ownership, playtime, in-game status, and activity from other users, while leaving it visible in your own Library.
- Hidden Library game: removes the game from your own Library view for organization. Steam describes this as an account-holder organization feature, not a way to conceal the game from other people.
Choose the private setting if the goal is to limit what others can see. Choose Library hiding if you simply want to tidy your own game list.
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- 【Responsive Touch & Enhanced Connectivity】 Enjoy a vastly improved touchscreen with higher fidelity and faster haptics. We’ve added a dedicated Bluetooth antenna to improve connections for multiple controllers. Whether using the built-in trackpads or the included external controller, this allows for precision play in everything from FPS to complex strategy games.
Will refunding a game erase its hours?
No. Steam’s refund FAQ says playtime and achievements remain on your Steam Community Profile after a refund. Refund eligibility is separate from changing or hiding a record. Steam’s standard refund conditions are a request within 14 days of purchase and less than two hours of playtime; Steam says requests outside those conditions may still be submitted for review. These are refund terms, not a way to edit hours. See Steam Support: Common Refund Questions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What privacy limits apply in multiplayer?
Private status does not guarantee that all traces of your account or activity are invisible during multiplayer. Steam notes that your Steam ID may be visible to other players on the same matchmaking server. A friend you invite may also see your in-game status until you exit the game or disconnect. These qualifications are described in Steam’s private-games guidance.
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- Players can play a huge variety of games at any time with the comfort of a console and the freedom of a PC. Not anti-glare screen.
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- The Steam Deck is outfitted with a 7-inch touchscreen, and two trackpads under the control sticks that allow gamers to operate games never designed outside of mouse and keyboard capabilities.
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