Technologies

Get Into the Holiday Spirit and Share Your Steam Library With Friends

Feeling generous? Steam’s Family Library Sharing gives you a chance to share your gaming library with other people on specific devices.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

With its no-strings-attached approach and frequent sales, Steam — Valve’s digital gaming distribution service — makes it easy for gamers to build up sizable gaming libraries. Unlike game subscription services (Xbox Game Pass, Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass), you can purchase individual games on Steam without a monthly commitment.

Another perk? Steam Family Sharing lets you share your game library with others. Even though this feature is aimed at helping parents distribute and monitor what their kids play, it also lets you lend games to your friends. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to share your Steam library.

How to protect your account with Steam Guard

Safeguarding your game library should be your top priority. This way, even if you share your account, everything will still be protected and within your control. To do that, you need to enable Steam Guard. Steam Guard — which is free to turn on — provides an additional level of security that protects your account from unauthorized access.

Here’s how to enable Steam Guard on your account with the desktop app or in browser:

1. Go to Steam’s homepage and make sure you’re logged in.

2. In the upper right corner, click your username.

3. In the drop-down menu, click Account Details.

4. Scroll down to Account Security and click Manage Steam Guard.

From there, you can choose between having Steam Guard codes sent to your phone or email, or you can turn Steam Guard off entirely. You’ll also see the option to deauthorize all other computers or devices other than the one you’re currently using that might have saved your login information. Steam recommends sending Guard codes to your phone as a form of two-factor authentication.

How to share your Steam game library

Log into your family member or friend’s computer with your Steam account to get started. You can do this from your app, here’s how:

1. In the top left corner, click Steam.

2. Select Settings (on Windows) or Preferences (on Mac) from the drop-down menu.

3. Select Family in the side menu

4. Click the box that says Authorize Library Sharing on this computer.

This gives you the option to authorize any accounts that have also logged into the same computer. If no one else has, you’ll get a message saying «No other local accounts found.» After this is complete, log out of your account and your friend or family member can log back into theirs. They should now have the ability to download and install select games from your library.

You can select up to five users who can access and use your library across 10 devices that you’ve authorized. While you can’t set up Family Sharing in a browser, you can check which devices and accounts have access to your Steam Library. You can also revoke access.

Here’s how to check in the Steam app:

1. In the upper right corner, click your username.

2. In the drop-down menu, click Account Details.

3. Scroll down to Family Settings and click Manage Family Library Sharing.

4. If any accounts or devices have access that you no longer wish to, you can click Revoke under Sharing Status.

Checking in a browser is essentially the same, once you log into the Steam site:

1. Go to Steam’s homepage and make sure you’re logged in.

2. In the upper right corner, click your username.

3. In the drop-down menu, click Account Details.

4. Scroll down to Family Settings and click Manage Family Library Sharing.

5. If any accounts or devices have access that you no longer wish to, you can click Revoke under Sharing Status.

Pros of sharing your gaming library with Steam Family Sharing

Sharing your games with others.
Being able to try out games when your family or friends share their account with you.
Parents can have a bit more control over games their younger children may play.
Easy to view and revoke access to who has access to your library.
Gives the user you’re sharing with a chance to try a game without investing money right away.

Cons of sharing your gaming library with Steam Family Sharing

Steam’s sharing features aren’t perfect.
Only five accounts can access your gaming library from up to 10 different computers.
You need an internet connection to access the shared libraries.
Libraries can only be shared in their entirety.
Some games don’t qualify for sharing because they require a subscription.
Shared games can only be accessed by one person at a time, so you won’t be able to easily play games together.
The account holder has priority access to their games. If you start playing a game while another person is already playing, they’ll have the option to buy the game or end the session.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 8, #562

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 8 No. 562.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Working out.

Green group hint: Cover your face.

Blue group hint: NFL players.

Purple group hint: Leap.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Exercises in singular form.

Green group: Sporting jobs that require masks.

Blue group: Hall of Fame defensive ends.

Purple group: ____ jump.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is exercises in singular form. The four answers are crunch, plank, situp and squat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sporting jobs that require masks. The four answers are catcher, fencer, football player and goaltender.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame defensive ends. The four answers are Dent, Peppers, Strahan and Youngblood.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ jump. The four answers are broad, high, long and triple.

Technologies

The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live — See If You’re Eligible

Use the settlement website to select your preferred payment method, and you may end up $100 richer.

You can now file a claim in the $135 million Google data settlement. The case centers on claims that Android devices transmitted user data without consent. Specifically, the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC contends that Google’s Android devices passively transferred cellular data to Google without user permission, even when the devices were idle. While not admitting fault, Google reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $135 million to about 100 million US Android phone users.

The official settlement website for the lawsuit is now live. The final approval hearing won’t occur until June 23, when the court will consider whether Google’s settlement is fair and listen to objections. After that, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement.

In the meantime, if you qualify and want to be paid as part of the settlement, you can select your preferred payment method on the official website. There, you can find information on speaking at the June 23 court hearing and on how to exclude yourself or write to the court to object by May 29.

As part of the settlement, Google will update its Google Play terms of service to clarify that certain data transfers do occur passively even when you’re not using your Android device, and that cellular data may be relied upon when not connected to Wi-Fi. This can’t always be disabled, but users will be asked to consent to it when setting up their device.

Google will also fully stop collecting data when its «allow background data usage» option is toggled off.

Who can be part of the settlement?

In order to join the Taylor v. Google LLC settlement, you must meet four qualifications:

Be a living, individual human being in the US.
Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
You’re not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents.

The final approval hearing is on June 23, so you can add your payment method until then. The hearing’s date and time may change, and any updates will be posted on the settlement website.

If you choose to do nothing, you will still be issued a settlement payment, but you may not receive it if you don’t select a payment method.

How much will I get paid?

It’s not currently known exactly how much each settlement class member will receive, but the cap is $100. Payments will be distributed after final court approval and after any appeals are resolved.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the settlement administrator will attempt to pay each member an equal amount. If any funds remain after payments are sent, and it’s economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it’s not economically feasible, the funds will go to an organization approved by the court.

Technologies

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Might Come in 5G and 4G Cellular Models

If the rumor proves true, the 5G Galaxy Watch Ultra would rival the 5G-enabled $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 that debuted last fall.

Samsung’s next high-end Galaxy Watch could support faster 5G speeds, but if this leak is true, it will depend on where you live. The rumored Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 might come in 5G and 4G cellular models, with availability for each smartwatch depending on the country.

According to the Dutch website Galaxy Club (and spotted by SamMobile), Samsung’s servers may have revealed a series of model numbers that point to 5G, 4G and Wi-Fi-enabled editions of the next Galaxy Watch Ultra, which would succeed the original model that debuted in 2024.

A representative for Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Galaxy Club website speculates that the 5G edition would be sold in the US and Korean markets, while the 4G edition would sell in the rest of the world. In the US, a 5G version of the Galaxy Watch Ultra would rival the 5G-enabled $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3, which debuted last fall. The 4G edition would have broader compatibility worldwide, since the earlier network is far more established.

It will likely be a few months until we hear anything official about the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Samsung typically unveils its new watches in the summer alongside its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip foldable phones. Last year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Watch 8 and the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, but otherwise left the prior 2024 Ultra in the lineup for those looking for a larger 47mm smartwatch.