Steam Family Groups is a universal system that combines Family Sharing and parental control functions. Users can join a digital “family” to share games, manage access, and monitor the activity of group members. Below, we’ll look at how to create such a group, what functions it provides, and what to consider.
What is a Steam Family Group?
A Steam Family Group is a group of up to six accounts that allows users to:
- Share game libraries;
- Set up parental controls for children’s accounts;
- Approve purchases (for a child account);
- View the gaming activity of participants (for a child account);
- Quickly switch between games from different libraries.
At the same time, each participant retains their achievements, saves and access to the workshop. All these functions work separately and do not affect other profiles in any way.
How to create a family group
Creating a group is done through the Steam menu:
- Go to the ” About account ” section by clicking on your avatar in the upper right corner of the client;
- Open the ” Manage Family Groups ” section;
- Click ” Create a family group “, come up with a name (it can be changed later);
- Invite other users by selecting a role for them: adult or child;
- Invited participants will receive a notification and will be able to join.
Main features of the family group
Game Sharing
Group members have access to all shared games. They appear in the library section, with a note indicating their source. You can choose whose copy to use if more than one member has one.
However, if you try to play a game that is already in use by another user, Steam will offer another available copy – or ask you to wait until one becomes available. You cannot play the same game from two accounts at the same time.
Roles of participants
- Adults manage settings, restrictions, and invitations.
- Children have access only to approved content, their activity is monitored, and purchases require confirmation.
Parental control
The control system includes:
- Blocking certain games;
- Setting time limits for staying in the game;
- Store, community and chat filters;
- Monitoring play time;
- Possibility of restoring the “Child” account if 30 days have passed since he/she joined the group.
Purchase requests
A child can add a game to the cart and send a request to an adult. The purchase is approved via notification or email, and the game is added to the child’s account.
Important nuances
- Once you join a family group, you cannot create or join another group for one year.
- When leaving a group, you can return back without waiting if there is still space in it.
- Not all games can be shared: some are unavailable due to technical or legal restrictions (for example, if the game requires a third-party account or subscription).
- Access to cheating or blocked games may result in sanctions: VAC bans, disabling access to group functions, etc. Share your library only with people you trust.
- Progress and achievements are tied to the current Steam account and do not transfer if you change accounts.
How to find games played by family group members
All games included in the family library can also be seen in the section “Account information” – “Manage family groups” – “Library”. In the Steam client, in the “Library” tab, you can enable the display of the library broken down by owner.
Go to the Games and Apps section — Group by libraries. This will show you which games are yours and which are from the collections of other group members.
Source: CQ.ru / Games of family group members
Steam Family Groups are an easy way to share games with family or friends. Convenient access settings, protection of children’s accounts, and the ability to play without losing personal progress make the system truly convenient. The main thing is to correctly distribute roles and carefully select participants to avoid problems and restrictions.