How to delete your Steam account
Steam is the largest PC gaming storefront and social platform, with around 130 million monthly users and tens of thousands of games. Valve stores your purchase history, game-time per title, Steam Community profile, friends list, screenshots, broadcasts, market transactions, Steam Wallet balance, and the entire chat log from Steam Chat. Account deletion is permanent and unusually destructive: your entire library and wallet are forfeited with no refunds.
Delete your Steam account, step by step
- 1Go to help.steampowered.com and log in
- 2Click 'My Account' > 'Manage account details' > 'Delete my Steam account'
- 3Or visit the direct link: help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpDeleteAccount
- 4Read every warning carefully — your library and wallet balance will be lost
- 5Click 'Proceed to account deletion'
- 6Confirm by clicking the link in the confirmation email Valve sends
- 7The account enters a 30-day deletion period
What actually happens when you delete
Gets removed
- ✓Your Steam username, profile, avatar, and Community profile
- ✓Game library, achievements, screenshots, and broadcasts
- ✓Steam Wallet balance and pending Steam Market listings
- ✓Friends list, groups, and Steam Chat history
- ✓Reviews and guides you authored (reviews may persist anonymized)
Stays behind
- ✗Steam Community posts and reviews may persist attributed to a deleted profile
- ✗Forum posts may remain but show as deleted user
- ✗Records Valve retains for fraud prevention, billing, and legal reasons
- ✗Family Sharing libraries available to other authorized accounts
- ✗Achievements and accomplishments are NOT visible after deletion
Before you delete
Deletion is PERMANENT and you lose your entire game library, wallet balance, market inventory, and Steam Community items with no refund. If you only want to stop receiving emails or remove your data, consider a privacy-only request instead. Cancel any Steam Family Sharing relationships first to avoid issues for shared accounts. Two-factor authentication via Steam Guard is required during deletion.
Download your data from Steam first
Most platforms only honor a data-export request while the account is still active. Do this before you delete.
- 1Go to help.steampowered.com/en/accountdata
- 2Click any of the categories: 'Purchases', 'Account Data', 'Community Data', etc.
- 3View the data directly in your browser or download as text
- 4To request a comprehensive privacy report, use the 'Request Steam Account Data' link at the bottom
If deletion fails — or you live in the EU, UK, or California
You have a legal right to request erasure of your personal data under GDPR (EU/UK) and CCPA (California). Use these official channels if the self-service flow doesn't work.
Steam deletion FAQs
Will I lose my Steam games if I delete my account?+
Yes. Account deletion is one of the most punishing in the industry — your entire game library, all DLC, all in-game items, and your Steam Wallet balance are permanently destroyed with no refund. Make sure you really want this before submitting the request.
Can I get a refund on my Steam Wallet balance before deleting?+
In most regions Valve will not refund existing wallet balance, but EU/UK customers can request a wallet refund within 14 days of the top-up if the funds haven't been spent. File a support ticket BEFORE submitting the deletion request.
Can I just remove my personal info without deleting the account?+
Yes. Use the privacy request wizard at help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPrivacyRequest to request specific data deletion or to anonymize your Steam Community profile while keeping your game library.
What happens to my Steam Family Sharing arrangements?+
Other people you authorized to share your library lose access immediately. If you were borrowing someone else's library, your access to those games is also revoked at deletion.
How long does Steam account deletion take?+
After you confirm via email, Valve queues the account for permanent deletion roughly 30 days later. During that window you can cancel by contacting Steam Support. After day 30 the account is unrecoverable.
Will my Steam reviews and forum posts be deleted?+
Reviews and posts may persist on the platform but lose attribution to your name — they're typically shown as authored by a deleted account. Consider deleting individual reviews and forum posts manually before account deletion.
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