Steam shares both anonymous and aggregated data with third parties, and also collects personal data from your communications on the platform including forum posts, chats, and user-generated content.
This analysis describes what Steam's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The provision distinguishes between anonymous/aggregated data sharing, which the terms permit broadly, and personal data collection, which occurs through explicit user submission or active participation in Steam's communication channels. This establishes the operational scope of Valve's data handling practices across different data categories.
The removal of this general third-party sharing provision is replaced by more specific provisions, indicating a reorganization toward clearer disclosure of data sharing practices.
View full change record →Your aggregated usage data and communications on Steam (forums, chats, user content) are collected and can be shared with unspecified third parties, with the risk that 'anonymous' data could be re-identified when combined with other data sources.
How other platforms handle this
We share Personal Data with vendors, service providers, and agents who work on our behalf and provide us with services related to the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Service.
We will disclose personal information to companies that help us run our business to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, deception, illegal activity, misuse of Adobe Services and Software, and security or technical issues.
We also require these service providers to protect your personal information to at least the same standards that we do.
"Valve may share anonymous data, aggregated or not, with third parties. We will collect and process Personal Data whenever you explicitly provide it to us or send it as part of communication with others on Steam, e.g. in Steam Community Forums, chats, or when you provide feedback or other user generated content.Excerpt from Steam's Privacy Policy
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ConductAtlas detected a major restructuring of Meta’s privacy policy that removed detailed consumer rights disclosures and relocated them to separate documents.
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The provision distinguishes between anonymous/aggregated data sharing, which the terms permit broadly, and personal data collection, which occurs through explicit user submission or active participation in Steam's communication channels. This establishes the operational scope of Valve's data handling practices across different data categories.
Your aggregated usage data and communications on Steam (forums, chats, user content) are collected and can be shared with unspecified third parties, with the risk that 'anonymous' data could be re-identified when combined with other data sources.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 288 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Steam.