To turn off specific games from Discord, you must navigate to User Settings > Activity Privacy and toggle off “Display current activity as a status message” for each game you wish to hide.
Ever felt like Discord is broadcasting your gaming habits a little too loudly? It can be annoying when your friends see every single game you launch. Sometimes you simply want some privacy. This leads to many asking, how to turn off specific games from discord?
Thankfully, it’s quite straightforward. You can easily control which games appear on your profile. It takes just a few simple steps to manage this visibility setting and enjoy a more personal Discord experience. Let’s explore the quick and easy method.
How to Turn Off Specific Games From Discord
Have you ever been in a Discord chat and felt like everyone knows what game you’re playing, even when you don’t want them to? It can be a little like having your screen shared when you didn’t ask for it! Discord has this cool feature where it shows your friends what you’re doing – which is awesome most of the time. But sometimes, you might want to keep your gaming a little more private. Maybe you’re trying a new game you don’t want to talk about yet, or perhaps you’re just not in the mood for everyone knowing. Good news, you can absolutely control which games Discord displays! Let’s explore how you can do this easily.
Why Would You Want to Hide Your Game Activity on Discord?
Before we get into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why.” Why might someone want to turn off their game activity on Discord? There are many reasons, and they are all perfectly fine. Here are a few examples:
- Surprise! Maybe you’re trying a brand new game and want to surprise your friends later with how good you’ve become. Keeping it quiet for now allows you to practice without pressure.
- Peace and Quiet: Sometimes you just want to relax and game without everyone knowing when you’re online. It’s like having a “do not disturb” sign for your gaming life.
- Trying Out New Things: You might be trying a game you’re not sure about, and you don’t want to announce it to the whole server. It’s like a little secret experiment!
- Privacy: You simply may prefer not sharing your activity with everyone all the time.
- Avoiding Spoilers: Perhaps you want to play a game at your own pace without your friends sharing their progress.
- Focus: Maybe you are playing a game while also trying to complete some schoolwork or another task. It is easier to avoid distractions and focus when your friends are not able to see what game you are playing.
These are just a few reasons, and your reason is just as valid! The important thing is that Discord gives you control over this feature. Now, let’s see how you actually do it.
Turning Off Game Activity: The Big Picture
Discord lets you manage game activity in a few different ways. You can stop all games from showing, turn it off for specific games, or only display certain games. The best part is that it is not a complicated process, and we will guide you through all the ways.
Turning off all Game Activity
This option hides all the games you are playing. When you do this, Discord will not show any current games that you play to your friends. This is a great option when you do not want anyone to know what you are playing. Here is how to do it:
- Open Discord: Start by launching the Discord application on your computer or opening it in your web browser.
- Go to User Settings: Look for the gear icon near your username in the bottom-left corner. Click this icon to open your settings.
- Go to Activity Privacy Settings: On the left sidebar of the Settings menu, click on ‘Activity Privacy’ under ‘Activity Settings’.
- Toggle Off Display Current Activity: In the Activity Privacy settings you will see an option labeled “Display current activity as a status message”. Click the slider to turn it off. It will move to the left and change to gray, which means game status is turned off.
Turning this setting off hides all your game activity. Your friends will no longer see any games you’re playing. If you just want to hide one specific game, keep reading!
Hiding Specific Games: The Details
What if you want to show you are playing some games, but not others? Discord lets you pick and choose which games it shows. This is useful when you play lots of games or want to keep some game playing quiet. Here is how to turn off the display of specific games in Discord:
Turning off Specific Game Activity via Registered Games
Discord keeps a list of games it has detected you playing. This list helps it to know what to show as your activity. To hide a specific game on the list:
- Open Discord Settings: Again, start by opening Discord and clicking the gear icon next to your username.
- Navigate to Registered Games: In settings, go to “Registered Games” which is under “Activity Settings”. This is also in the left sidebar.
- Find the Game to Hide: You will see a list of games Discord knows you have played. Scroll through the list or use the search bar to find the specific game you want to hide.
- Toggle the Switch: Next to each game on the list is a toggle. By default the toggle will be blue, which means Discord is set to show that you are playing that game. Click the toggle next to the game you want to hide. It will turn to grey, which means the game is no longer being displayed as your current activity.
The best part is that you can go back to this setting at any time to change what games are hidden or displayed. This allows you to change which games are displayed whenever you would like!
How to add games to the Registered Games list
If you do not see the game you would like to hide, Discord might not know that you have played that game before. Discord needs to register the games you are playing before it can give you the option to hide them from the activity status. Here is how you can help Discord register the game:
- Open Discord Settings: Start by opening Discord and clicking the gear icon next to your username.
- Navigate to Registered Games: In settings, go to “Registered Games” which is under “Activity Settings”. This is also in the left sidebar.
- Click “Add it!”: Just above the list of registered games, you will see a button that says “Add it!”. Click this button.
- Find Your Game: A small window will appear that will display all the apps that are running on your computer. Find the specific game you would like Discord to register. Click this game to register it.
- Toggle the Switch: The game should now appear on the list, and you can toggle off the switch next to the game you just registered.
The game will now be registered and hidden from your Discord Activity Status.
Troubleshooting: When Games Still Appear
Sometimes, even after following these steps, a game might still show up. Here’s what to do:
- Restart Discord: Closing and reopening Discord can often fix small glitches.
- Close the Game: Make sure the game is completely closed, not just minimized. Discord might still detect it as “running.”
- Check Discord Updates: An older version of Discord might have bugs. Make sure your application is updated to the newest version.
- Double-check Settings: Make sure you have turned off the correct games in the settings. Also, make sure you did not turn off the wrong switch, such as the general “Display current activity as a status message”.
- Restart Computer: Sometimes, a simple computer restart can solve the problem if nothing else seems to work.
Tips and Tricks for Managing Your Game Activity
Here are some additional things to keep in mind as you manage the display of game activity on your Discord account:
Using “Invisible” Status
If you want to be online but also seem like you are offline, you can use the “Invisible” status. This is different than turning off activity, but it is a good tip to know when you want extra privacy. When your status is set to invisible, other Discord users will not be able to tell whether you are online or offline. This is similar to having your game status turned off, except it also applies to your online status. It will look like you are not online even when you are. Here is how to change your status to invisible:
- Look for your status icon: At the very bottom left of Discord, you will see your profile picture. Just beside it, you will see a small circle, this is your status icon.
- Click Your Status Icon: Click the icon. A small menu will open up.
- Choose “Invisible”: In the menu you will see different status options. Click “Invisible”. The icon will change to a gray circle with a white dot in the center.
Your online status is now invisible, and you will not be able to see others’ statuses. Remember that this is separate from hiding games. You can choose to hide your status but still show a game, or hide both.
Game Detection and Discord
Discord tries to detect what games you are playing automatically. This makes it easy to share what you are doing. However, this detection can be a little tricky sometimes. Sometimes Discord will show a program as a game when it is not. Other times, it may not detect a game you are playing. Knowing how Discord detects games can help you understand why some things appear when you do not expect it.
- Game Names and Executables: Discord checks the names of running programs to see if they match known game names. It looks at the main file that starts the game, called the executable.
- Game Data: Sometimes Discord is smart enough to also use information from the game to identify what you are playing.
- Game Developers: Discord works with game developers to ensure their games are correctly shown.
- Manual Input: If the program doesn’t match anything that it can find, Discord might give you the option to manually tell it what the program is.
Keep in mind that some games are not supported by Discord. If you are playing an older game, there is a chance that Discord will not detect it.
Discord and Your Privacy
Discord takes privacy seriously, but it’s still good to be aware of how your activity is shown and shared. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Friend Requests: When other users see the games you are playing, they can use that information to send friend requests and reach out to you.
- Server Members: If you are in a public server, people that you do not know can see your status.
- Public Servers: If you join a public server dedicated to a certain game, your status could show other users on the server that you are playing that game.
- Third Party Apps: Some third party apps can read and display your Discord activity status.
Keep these things in mind as you change the visibility of your activity status.
Mobile App Settings
All of the settings we talked about can also be found on the Discord mobile app. If you want to change these settings on your phone or tablet, the steps are almost the same. Here is a summary of the main differences:
- Open Discord Menu: Instead of using a gear icon, you have to click the small image of yourself in the bottom right of the screen. This opens the user settings menu.
- Find “Activity Privacy”: Scroll down and click on “Privacy & Safety” under “App Settings”. Then click “Activity Privacy”.
- Toggle Switches: From here the process is very similar. You can toggle the display all status, or go back to the “Registered Games” option to hide specific games.
The mobile version of Discord is a great way to manage your settings when you are not on your computer.
Managing your game activity on Discord is quite simple. With the ability to hide all or specific games, Discord allows you to have some control over the privacy of your gaming. Whether you are trying a new game, need some peace and quiet, or just want to keep your playing private, Discord has you covered. You can now go forward with the ability to show what you want and hide what you don’t.
How To Hide Game Activity On Discord | Turn Off Game Activity Discord
Final Thoughts
To turn off specific games from Discord, navigate to User Settings, then Activity Privacy. Find the “Display current activity as a status message” option, which you can toggle off.
You can disable showing individual game activity by toggling the corresponding switches off next to each game. This gives you control over what others see about your gaming habits.
This straightforward method ensures you maintain your desired level of privacy. Remember, these settings let you manage how to turn off specific games from discord from showing.



