Limited User Accounts
Question

My Steam account is missing some Community features and/or is showing up as a limited user. What does this mean?
Answer
Why are some features of Steam not available to me?

Limited users are not able to send friend invites or initiate chat sessions. We've chosen to limit access to these features as a means of protecting our customers from those who abuse Steam merely for evil purposes such as spamming and phishing. Spammers' and phishers' ability to send pesky invites and chat requests to strangers is thereby reduced, protecting legitimate users from annoyance and scams.

The good news is that other features are still available. Limited users can still create community groups, be added as friends, and chat with other users.

Please note: limited users must navigate to their Steam community homepages in order to view friend requests.
How can I gain access to all Steam features?

To access all features of Steam, simply purchase a game from the Steam store, redeem a Gift or Guest Pass* on Steam, complete a microtransaction, fund your Steam wallet, or activate a retail game on Steam.

* Access to features may be limited to the duration of the Guest Pass.


Can I gain access to these features by playing free demos, adding a non-Steam game as a shortcut, or promotional trials like Free Weekends?

No. Demos, Free Weekends, free games (Examples: Alien Swarm, free versions of Portal or Team Fortress 2), and other promotions do not act as qualifying items.