Steam Access privacy policy
Last updated 18 October 2026 (version 0.3.1).
This covers the Steam Access app for Windows. The main privacy policy covers this website.
The short version
- Steam Access never asks for your Steam password, Steam Guard codes or payment details, and has no way to collect them.
- It reads Steam’s files on your own PC to build your library. That information stays on your PC.
- It talks to Steam’s public services to show store pages, news, achievements and your profile, the same as visiting Steam’s website.
- It sends nothing about you to me. There is no account, no telemetry, no analytics, no adverts and no tracking.
- Purchases happen in Steam’s own checkout, inside the Steam client.
What it reads on your PC
To show your library, Steam Access reads files the Steam client already keeps on your computer:
- Where Steam is installed and where your library folders are.
- Each installed game’s manifest: its name, install folder, size and download progress.
- Steam’s local app list, to tell games apart from tools and runtimes.
- The signed‑in account’s name and Steam ID, your playtime, when you last played each game, your collections, and the friend names Steam stores locally.
- Steam’s cached cover art.
To show Play and Stop, it reads Steam’s “running” flags in the Windows registry. When you press Stop, it also looks at the list of running programs to find the ones inside that game’s folder. None of this leaves your computer.
What it sends, and where
| Sent to | What and why |
|---|---|
| Steam store (Valve) | Your searches, the game you’re viewing and your chosen store country, to get prices, details, offers and screenshots. |
| Steam Community and Web API (Valve) | Your public Steam ID, to get your public profile, achievements, wishlist and game news. When you look someone up to add as a friend, the code, link or profile name you typed is sent to Steam to find their public profile. If you add a Web API key, the key and your Steam ID are sent so Steam can return your full game list and your friends’ status. |
| This website | Once a day the app downloads a tiny file saying what the newest version is. Like any web request, this reveals your IP address to the web server and to Cloudflare, which sits in front of it. Nothing else is sent: no Steam ID, no game list, no identifier. |
Requests to Steam are covered by Valve’s privacy policy, just as they would be if you used Steam’s own website.
What is stored, and where
| What | Where it is kept |
|---|---|
| Settings | On your PC, in %APPDATA%\steam-access\settings.json. This holds things like theme, store country, sort order, any library folders you added, and which wishlist sales you’ve already been told about. |
| Steam Web API key (optional) | On your PC only, encrypted with Windows’ own protection for your user account. It’s only ever sent to Steam. Removing it in Settings deletes it. |
| Anything held by the developer | Nothing. The app has no server of its own and sends nothing to one. |
What the app never does
- It never asks for, stores or sends your Steam password, Steam Guard codes or login cookies.
- It never handles card details or wallet funds. Buying opens Steam’s own checkout.
- It contains no analytics, no crash reporting, and no advertising or tracking code.
- It never changes Steam’s files. It only reads them.
- It never runs or stops anything you didn’t ask it to.
- It never sends a friend request by itself. You pick the person and press Send, and the Steam client sends it.
Children
The app collects nothing from anyone, of any age. Steam’s own rules on age and accounts still apply to Steam.
Changes
If any of this changes, the date at the top changes with it. Anything that affects you will be stated here before a version making that change is released.
Contact
Questions about this policy — see
how to get in touch. There is no data
held about you to request or delete. Deleting the app and the
%APPDATA%\steam-access folder removes everything it stored.