How to appear offline on Steam

Short version: click your name in the top-right of the Steam client, hover the status arrow, and pick Invisible or Offline. Invisible is the one most people actually want. It hides your online status and your current game from friends while still letting you chat, browse the store, and play normally. If you would rather nobody could tell you touched Steam at all, that is what Offline mode does, and it works a little differently. If you are trying to control who sees your activity in general, it also helps to know who can view your Steam profile in the first place.

Invisible vs Offline: the difference that matters

These two options look similar in the menu but behave differently, and picking the wrong one is the usual reason people get "caught."

Invisible. You show up as offline to your friends list, but Steam itself is fully online. You can send and receive messages, join chats, browse, and play games. Friends see a grayed-out offline entry for you and cannot tell you are actually there. This is the setting almost everyone means when they say "appear offline."
Offline. This puts the whole client into offline mode. You are disconnected from Steam's social and online features. You can still launch most single-player games you already own, but you will not get messages, and some online features stop working until you go back online. It is closer to a hard disconnect than a disguise.

So if you want to keep playing and chatting quietly, use Invisible. If you want Steam to behave as though it has no internet connection, use Offline.

Appear offline on Steam (desktop)

Open the Steam client on your PC or Mac.
Click your profile name in the top-right corner of the window.
In the dropdown, hover over the small status arrow next to your name (it usually shows "Online").
Choose Invisible to hide your status while staying connected, or Offline to drop into full offline mode.
Your status changes right away. Friends now see you as offline.

You can also change your status from the Friends & Chat window. Click the Friends button in the bottom-right, then click your name or the status dot at the top of that window and pick the state you want.

To go back, repeat the steps and select Online. There is no timer and no penalty, so you can flip between states as often as you like.

Appear offline on the Steam mobile app

The Steam Mobile app can set your status too, which is handy when you are away from your PC.

Open the Steam app and sign in.
Tap the menu (the hamburger icon) or your avatar to open your account area.
Find the status control near your name, usually shown as your current "Online" state.
Tap it and choose Invisible or Offline.

The exact placement shifts a little between app versions, but the status control lives wherever your name and avatar appear. Setting Invisible from your phone hides you on desktop too, since it is one account-wide status.

Do friends still see you in a game?

This is the part that trips people up. When you set your status to Invisible, your friends do not see the game you are currently playing. Your entry sits in the offline section of their friends list with no "In-Game" label and no green "playing" text. That is the whole point of Invisible.

There are still a few ways your activity can leak, and they have nothing to do with your Steam status:

In-game friend systems. If a game has its own friends list or party system (many multiplayer titles do), the people you actually join or queue with can see you inside that game. Steam Invisible does not hide you from a match you joined.
Your Steam profile and game details. Recent game activity and playtime can show on your profile depending on your privacy settings. Invisible hides your live status, not your profile history. If you want that locked down, set your game details to Private in your privacy settings.
Group and rich presence in third-party apps. Some outside apps that read Steam presence will simply see you as offline, which is what you want.

If you are curious what your own profile exposes to other people, run it through our Steam profile viewer to see what a friend or stranger actually sees.

Can you still chat while invisible?

Yes. This is the main advantage of Invisible over Offline. While Invisible you can:

Send and receive direct messages.
Read and post in group chats.
Get message notifications normally.
Play any game, online or single-player.

The catch is that replying gives the game away. If a friend messages you and sees an instant reply, they can reasonably guess you are around, even though your status still reads offline. Some people also report that opening a chat can briefly flip them visible in older client versions, so if you are trying to stay fully hidden, it is safest to avoid actively messaging people while Invisible.

Offline mode is the opposite trade. Nobody can reach you and you cannot reach them, but you also cannot use chat at all.

FAQ

What is the difference between Invisible and Offline on Steam? Invisible keeps you connected to Steam so you can chat and play while showing as offline to friends. Offline mode disconnects the client from Steam's online features entirely, closer to pretending you have no internet.

Can my friends see what game I am playing if I am invisible? No, not through your Steam status. Your current game is hidden while Invisible. They could still see you inside a specific game's own party or friends system if you joined them there.

Can I still send messages while appearing offline? Yes, if you use Invisible. You keep full chat access. In true Offline mode chat is disabled because you are disconnected from Steam's social features.

Does appearing offline hide my profile and playtime? Not by itself. Invisible hides your live online status, but recent games and playtime are controlled by your profile privacy settings, which are separate. Set your game details to Private if you want those hidden.

How do I go back online? Click your name in the top-right, hover the status arrow, and choose Online. The change is instant and there is no limit on how often you switch.