Steam Club

Transparency

Member data we store

When you use “Sign in with Steam,” Steam Club creates a member record from what Steam confirms and from optional details you add here. This page lists every database field we keep for registered members, how follow and comment features link to your account, and which short-lived cookies are involved in login. We do not store your Steam password.

Sign-in with Steam

Authentication uses Valve’s OpenID service. Steam proves which Steam account you control; we never see your Steam password. To refresh your name, avatar, and library statistics we may call Valve’s Steam Web APIs from our servers using a site API key—only for data Valve exposes for your account (for example profile summary, owned games count, recently played).

Main database row: site_users

One row per registered member. Column names match our production schema:

  • id

    Internal primary key (UUID) for your Club account.

  • created_at

    Timestamp when your member row was first created.

  • updated_at

    Timestamp when your row was last updated (profile edits, Steam sync, etc.).

  • steam_id

    Your public Steam ID64 from OpenID—unique key that ties logins to this row.

  • display_name

    Persona name from Steam at the time of sync or sign-in.

  • avatar_url

    Avatar image URL from Steam.

  • profile_url

    Public Steam community profile URL when provided by Steam.

  • public_slug

    Short slug for your public profile URL on Steam Club (not your Steam credentials).

  • steam_timecreated

    Unix time your Steam account was created, when Valve exposes it in the API.

  • games_owned

    Number of owned games returned by Steam’s API when available.

  • achievements_unlocked

    Aggregate achievement-related figure from Steam sync when we populate it.

  • steam_recent_games

    JSON text of recently played titles (app id, name, playtime fields) from Steam for your profile display.

  • bio

    Optional biography text you enter on Steam Club.

  • location

    Optional location string you enter.

  • favorite_genres

    Optional comma-separated genre tags you enter.

  • favorite_game_appid & favorite_game_name

    Optional favourite Steam game you pick for your profile.

  • pc_setup

    Optional free-text hardware or setup notes you provide.

  • preferred_tdp & preferred_fps

    Optional numeric preferences you configure (for example Deck-style limits).

  • is_listed

    Flag (0/1) controlling whether you appear in the public members directory.

  • show_activity

    Flag (0/1) controlling whether aggregated activity signals (like comment counts) show on your public profile.

Other database records linked to your account

Member follows (site_user_follows)

When you follow another member, we store a row with your internal user id, their internal user id, and timestamps. Removing your account follows our deletion rules for related data.

Comments (comments & content_comments)

When you post while signed in, we store your internal site_user_id on the comment row (plus fields needed to render the comment). Game configuration comments use the comments table; news, reviews, and article threads use content_comments.

Cookies used for membership (not stored as profile rows)

After a successful Steam sign-in we set an httpOnly session cookie (steamclub_session) with a signed token referencing your internal id and Steam id—never your Steam password. During the OpenID redirect we may set short-lived cookies (for example CSRF state and optional return path) that expire within minutes. Analytics and locale preferences are described on our cookie page.

Keeping this page accurate

If we add new optional profile fields or new related tables, we update this transparency page and the privacy policy when the change goes live.

For broader policy context, read the Privacy Policyand About Cookies.