How to Stop Steam From Opening on Startup on Windows 11

Being one of the world’s oldest and most trusted digital games distribution platforms, Steam has occupied a well-deserved place on most gamers’ PC. Even those who seldom play games do keep Steam’s client around for when the fancy strikes. But its auto-startup feature can be quite bothersome, logging you in when you don’t want to and updating games on its own, all of which clogs the bandwidth. Here are a few ways to stop Steam from launching when you start your system.

Method 1: From the Steam Client app

Steam lets you turn its auto-startup feature from within the desktop client itself. To do so, follow the steps given below:

Open the Steam app on your PC, navigate to the Steam menu in the top left corner, and then click on Settings.
Alternatively, you can find the Steam icon in the system tray, right-click on it, and click on Settings.
In the Settings Menu, click on Interface in your left sidebar and uncheck Run Steam when my computer starts on the right.

From now on, Steam won’t start up automatically when Windows starts.

Method 2: From the Task Manager

If Steam’s interface seems too clunky for you to navigate, you can also shut its auto-startup feature from the Task Manager.

Open the task manager by right-clicking on the Taskbar and selecting Task Manager. Alternatively, you can also press Ctrl+Shift+Esc on your keyboard.
Navigate to the Startup tab on the left and find Steam. Click on it, and then click on Disable.

This will keep Steam from starting automatically.

Method 3: From Startup Apps

Another method is to disable Steam from Windows Auto-Startup in the Settings menu. Let’s take a look at the procedure.

Open the Settings app, then go to Apps > Startup Apps.
In the Settings window, you’ll find a bunch of apps. Find Steam and turn off the toggle beside it.