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

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”