What is a Steam Trade Hold and how to Avoid it (December 2023)

Steam accounts that do not have a protection with Steam Guard Mobile Authentication will have a temporary “Steam Trade Hold”, that prevents both parties from receiving their items and it can last up to 15 days. Luckily, there are many ways to prevent this from happening.

What is a Trade Hold?

A Steam Trade Hold is a period of time in which a trade accepted by both parties is withheld by steam for up to 15 days for security reasons.

Why do they happen?

Steam accounts can be quite valuable and many thieves try to steal from them. A hold on accounts without 2FA is applied by steam in order to provide time to someone with a compromised account to deny an unwanted trade and secure his account if it has been hijacked. It is important to note that if a trade hold has been denied Steam assumes that your account is compromised and a 7 day trading ban is applied to the account.

How to prevent Steam Trade Holds

To prevent Steam Trade Holds, you need to secure your account with the Steam Guard Authentication mobile app. Once your account will be linked with the mobile device app for at least 7 days, Steam Trade Hold will disappear but you will need to confirm each trade you do from now on.