What to Know
- Desktop app or website: Select Username > Friends > Add a Friend > and enter a name or friend code.
- To get an invite link, select your Username > Friends > Add a Friend > Generate new link > Copy.
- Mobile app: Select your avatar > Add Friends and enter a name or friend code.
This article explains how to add friends on Steam using the Steam website, the desktop app, and the mobile app by sending a friend request that your friend sees the next time they log in to Steam. You can also add friends by sending an invite link.
Add Friends on Steam Using the Desktop App or Website
The Steam desktop app is virtually identical to the Steam website, so you can add friends using the one you prefer. The Store tab in the app corresponds to Steampowered.com, which is Steam's online store. The Community tab corresponds to Steamcommunity.com, which is Steam's online community portal.
If you don't know your friend's exact Steam profile name and can't find their account on the service, you may have difficulty adding them.
Here's how to find and add friends on Steam using the desktop app or the Steam Community website:
Open the Steam desktop app or navigate to Steamcommunity.com.
Place the mouse cursor over your username in the menu bar.
Choose Friends in the drop-down menu that appears.
Select Add a Friend.
You can't send friend requests on Steam until you buy a game or add funds to your Steam Wallet. New accounts are locked into a limited state until a small amount of money is spent. If you want to add friends before buying anything, ask your friends to send you an invite link.
If you know your friend's 8-digit Steam Friend Code, you can enter it. Otherwise, type your friend's name in the search field and press Enter.
Locate your friend in the search results, then select Add As Friend.
Select OK.
Your friend must accept the request before they appear on your friends list.
Steam users can change their profile names at any time. If you don't see your friend in the search results, make sure they haven't changed their name recently.
Add Friends on Steam With the Mobile App
The Steam app, which is available for Android and iOS, offers most of the same functionality as the desktop app. Some things are in slightly different places, but you can still accomplish most of the same tasks, including adding friends.
Here's how to add friends using the Steam mobile app:
Tap your avatar in the upper-right corner (if you haven't uploaded a custom avatar, it'll be a question mark).
Tap Add friends.
On the next screen, you can enter a friend code or search for a name.
Your friend won't appear in your friends list until they accept the request.
What to Do When You Can't Find Friends on Steam
Finding and adding friends on Steam doesn't always work as expected. Steam has a few quirksabout how it treats usernames that can make it tough to find friends. If the database goes down, it can become impossible to find who you're looking for. When that happens, you have to wait for Valve to fix the problem.
When you sign up for Steam, you create a username that you use to log in to the service. This primary username isn't the same as the username that people see in games or when you post in Steam community groups. You can change your profile name whenever you want, which can create confusion when someone tries to add you as a friend.
To make it easier for people to find you, find your Steam ID and then set a custom universal resource locator (URL) name that's the same.
Your Steam account has four names associated with it:
- Steam Account Name: The username that you use to log in to your Steam account. You can't change it.
- Steam Profile Name: The name that appears on friends lists, in games, and in the Steam community. You can change this name.
- Real Name: Using your real name helps your friends find you in search. You can put anything you want, though, and you can change it at any time.
- Custom URL name: A name you set on your profile. If you set it to the same thing as your profile name, people can navigate to Steamcommunity.com/id/yourprofilename to find you.
When you search for someone on Steam, you can use their Steam profile name or their real name, but you won't find them if they changed either to something else.
Steam keeps a partial record of past profile names and provides an abbreviated list in the search results. However, you need to search for your friend's current name if you want to be sure to find them.
Here are some things to try if you can't find or add your friends on Steam:
- Make sure that you type their current Steam profile name.
- If their current profile name is different from their Steam account name, search for their account name. This idea is more likely to work if their account name and custom URL name are the same.
- If you know the name your friend uses for their profile (real or otherwise), you can search for that.
- If you still can't find your friend on Steam, make sure they have set up their Steam profile.
- Generate and send a Steam friend invite link if you still can't find or add them.
Ask Your Friend to Set Up Their Steam Profile
If your friend is new to Steam, or they haven't set up their profile, you may not be able to find them using the search function. Ask them to open the Steam client, or visit Steamcommunity.com, and set up their profile.
It can take a while for new Steam members to show up in searches, so you may have to wait until the database updates. If you don't want to wait, you can try a few other methods to add a friend on Steam.
Send Your Friend a Steam Invite Link
The easiest way to add a friend on Steam, other than finding them with the search function, is to generate an invite link and give it to them. This process requires some communication between you and your friend outside of Steam since you'll need to send them the code in an email or a chat app like Discord.
You generate Steam friend invite links on the same page where you access the friend search function. Here's how to find the right location and generate an invite link:
Open the Steam desktop app or navigate to Steamcommunity.com.
Place the mouse cursor over your username in the menu bar.
Select Friends.
Select Add a Friend.
Select Copy next to your Quick Invite link. If you don't see a link, select Generate new link.
Alternatively, you can give your friend your eight-digit Steam Friend Code and they can look you up.
Send the link to your friend.
When your friend clicks the link, it opens the Steam website. After they log in, they see a banner message near the top of the page. If they select Add as Friend in the message, Steam adds each of you to the other's friends lists.
FAQ
How do I share games on Steam?
To share games on Steam, open Steam on your computer and go to Steam > Settings > Family. Check Authorize Library Sharing on this computer and select the accounts you want to share your games with.
How do you get a refund on a Steam game?
To request a refund on a Steam game, go to Steam Support and open the game to create a support ticket and make a refund request. If it's been more than fourteen days, log into the Steam website and find the Support tab. Then, go to the Purchases tab, select the title, and go through the steps for a refund.
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