FAQ

Questions, answered straight.

The things people actually ask before signing up - and what really happens after. If yours isn't here, ping us in Discord and we'll add it.

The basics

What does HourIdler do?

It signs into your Steam accounts on our servers and tells Steam you're playing the games you pick. Steam adds the playtime and drops trading cards, exactly like you were sitting at your PC - except your PC can be off. You set it all up from a simple web page.

How is it different from ArchiSteamFarm?

ASF is free, but you run it yourself: install Python, edit config files, and leave a PC on all day. HourIdler runs on our servers instead. Same result, none of the setup.

What about HourBoost or Idle Master?

HourBoost charges by the block of hours; we charge one flat price. Idle Master only runs one account, on your own computer. We're the hands-off option: lots of accounts, hosted for you, with the Card Farmer on every paid plan.

How fast can I get started?

About two minutes. Sign up (no card needed for Free), add a Steam account with a QR scan or your username and password, pick some games, and hit Start. The first sign-in takes around 30 seconds. There's a full walkthrough with screenshots in our setup guide.

Is it safe?

Will I get VAC banned?

No. VAC bans come from cheating inside a game that's actually running - modified files, injected code, that sort of thing. Idling never launches the game; it only tells Steam which game you're "playing." Steam has said for over a decade that idling on its own won't get you banned.

Could my account get banned some other way?

We haven't seen it happen. We connect the same way the Steam app on your PC does, using Steam's official system. Plenty of accounts have run with us around the clock for over a year with no bans at all. If Valve ever signalled this was a problem, we'd stop before putting your accounts at risk.

Why do you need my Steam password?

Just to sign in the first time. We store it encrypted, and once Steam gives us a login token we use that from then on - the password only gets touched again if Steam ever asks us to sign in fresh. Prefer not to share it? Use QR login: scan a code in the Steam mobile app and we never see your password at all.

What happens to my data if I delete my account?

It all goes right away - your login, tokens, Steam accounts, and history. Nothing is kept, and there's no "saved for analytics."

How idling works

Does the playtime actually count?

Yes. Steam treats it just like really playing - the hours show on your profile, count toward badges, and earn card drops.

Can I still play normally while it's idling?

Just not at the same moment. Steam only allows one session per account, so the second you launch a game on your own PC, our session steps aside and the account shows offline until you're finished. It picks back up by itself afterward.

How does it rotate between games?

Each account cycles through the games you picked, about 5 minutes each, so every game builds up real playtime - not just the first one in the list. Steam allows up to 32 games at once per account, which is the cap on the higher plans.

How long until I get a trading card?

Roughly one card every 1-2 hours per game, until that game runs out of drops (usually 5-10 of them). After that, Steam won't drop more for that game until you make a badge with the cards. The Card Farmer (on any paid plan) takes care of all this for you.

Can I idle games I don't own?

No - only games already in your Steam library. Steam won't credit time for games you haven't bought.

What about free-to-play games?

Most free games only drop cards once you've spent some money in them (TF2 Premium, CS2 Prime, and the like). The Card Farmer spots when a game claims it has drops but never actually gives any, and quietly skips it for that account.

Card Farmer

What is the Card Farmer?

It's included with every paid plan. It keeps an eye on your card drops, checks what the cards are worth, and idles whichever game pays the most per hour. When a game runs dry it moves to the next one on its own - you don't have to choose anything.

How does it decide what a card is worth?

It goes by what buyers are actually offering right now, not the cheapest listing. A card "listed" at 50 cents with nobody buying isn't really worth 50 cents - it's worth the best offer sitting on it. That keeps the value realistic instead of hopeful.

How much can I earn?

It depends on your games, how many accounts you run, and the day's market prices. A typical Pro user with 10-12 accounts running around the clock makes somewhere around $8-15 a month in cards. It won't make you rich, but it usually covers the subscription with a bit left over.

Plans & billing

Can I cancel any time?

Yep. Open your Plans page and hit Cancel. You keep your plan until the end of what you've already paid for, then drop back to Free. No fees, no hassle.

I have more accounts than my plan allows. What happens?

If you signed up before our 2026 plan change, your old higher limit stays with you for good - you'll see your real limit on your accounts page. Signed up after that? You get the limit listed for your plan.

Do you do refunds?

Charged by accident? Stripe can refund it within 7 days from the billing portal. For anything else, just message us on Discord and we'll sort it out. Bought Lifetime and changed your mind? We'll refund you fairly within the first 30 days.

What if HourIdler shuts down - especially for Lifetime buyers?

We'd give 6 months' notice and refund active subscriptions and Lifetime buyers fairly for the time left. We've no plans to close (the service pays for itself), but it's a fair thing to ask about anything sold as "lifetime."

Help

One of my accounts keeps going offline. Why?

It's usually one of three things: you opened that same account on your own Steam (only one session is allowed at a time), your authenticator or 2FA setup changed, or Steam emailed you to approve a new sign-in. The little status dot on the account card usually hints at which one.

My accounts briefly went offline together - is something broken?

Nope, nothing you need to do. Once in a while a brief network hiccup can bump a few accounts offline at the same time. The system reconnects them automatically (spacing the logins out so Steam doesn't throttle) and brings everything back on its own - just give it a moment.

How do I get help?

Discord is the fastest - the link's in the menu and the footer. Lifetime also comes with priority email support. Either way, include your HourIdler username (not your Steam name) so we can find you quickly.

Still on the fence?

The Free tier is genuinely free - two Steam accounts, no card, no time limit. The fastest way to see whether this actually works for you is to try it.

Start free Ask on Discord