How To Turn Off Steam Notifications: Complete Settings Guide

Accessing Your General Steam Notification Settings

To access your settings, you must click the Steam menu located at the top left of your desktop client. Finding the correct menu is the first step when figuring out how to turn off Steam notifications globally.

• Open your desktop client and log into your account.

• Click on the word "Steam" in the top-left corner of the window.

• Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu.

• Click on the "Notifications" tab in the left sidebar.

Once you are in this menu, you have full control over what alerts pop up on your screen.

Hiding Alerts When Friends Play Games

To stop seeing alerts when your friends launch a game, you need to disable the specific friend activity toggles in your settings. If you are searching for how to turn off Steam notifications when friends play games, this is the exact section you need to adjust.

• Scroll down to the "Friend Activity" section in the Notifications tab.

• Find the setting labeled "When a friend joins a game".

• Uncheck the box next to "Show a toast notification".

By removing this checkmark, you will no longer see pop-ups every time someone on your friends list starts playing.

Disabling Pop-ups While You Are In-Game

To block alerts while you are actively playing, you need to enable the Do Not Disturb feature or adjust your overlay settings. Knowing how to turn off Steam notifications while in game is essential to prevent screen clutter and accidental clicks during critical gameplay moments.

• Stay in the Notifications settings menu.

• Locate the "Non-Critical Notifications" or "Do Not Disturb" options.

• Check the box to suppress incoming notifications while a game is running.

This setting ensures that incoming messages, group events, and your own game launch alerts remain hidden from your screen until you exit the game.

Customizing Alerts for Sounds and Achievements

To customize your alert experience, you can separate visual pop-ups from audio cues. This means you can keep the visual alert but remove the annoying chime, or keep the sound but hide the visual box.

Silencing Steam Notification Sounds

To turn off Steam notification sounds, you must uncheck the audio options next to each notification type. In your Notifications tab, you will see two boxes next to most settings: one for a visual "toast" notification and one for "Play a sound". Simply uncheck the box under the sound column for any alert you want to silence, such as incoming chat messages or friend requests.

Turning Off Achievement Pop-ups

To stop achievement alerts from blocking your screen, you need to toggle off the achievement notification setting. Scroll through your Notifications tab until you find the "Achievements" section. Uncheck the box for displaying a toast notification. This prevents the small graphic from popping up and blocking your user interface right after you unlock a rare achievement.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How to turn off Steam notifications in the bottom right corner?

To turn off Steam notifications in the bottom right corner, you need to uncheck the "toast notification" boxes in your general settings menu. By default, desktop alerts appear in the bottom right corner of your monitor. Removing the checkmarks for messages, friend activity, and events will completely remove these bottom-right pop-ups.

Can I turn off Steam notifications for specific friends?

Yes, to turn off Steam notifications for specific friends, you need to manage their individual profile settings. Right-click the specific user in your Friends List, select "Manage", and then click on "Notification options". From there, you can choose to mute their message alerts or game launch pop-ups without applying a blanket setting to everyone else on your list.