I want to play Path of Exile with my sister, so she signed up for a Steam Account. However, Path of Exile is a free game and when she tried to add friends she got a message stating she cannot yet add friends. Due to spam protection, she must spend at least $5 on games before she is allowed to invite.
So I figured I'd invite her from my account which does have purchased games, but if I search for her username or email I cannot find her. It seems as if her account isn't visible for some reason. (Possibly because she spent no money? Although that doesn't seem like a "prevent spam/phishing" then, and more like a "must spend money to use this free platform")
Is there a way for me to find her to add her account without her having to spend money on games to lift the limited user restrictions to do the process backwards (invite me; send me a friend request)?
Best Answer
Based on what everyone else is saying:
Before trying anything, ensure the following:
If you are unable to find your sister's account through searching, try asking her to give you her community profile link, since all accounts are allowed to have a profile.
You can find the link by asking her to click on her own name (at the bottom corner of the Steam Client) and copying the link given at the top to you.
Note: If a link does not appear at the top, enable web-friendly links by going to
Steam > Settings > Interface
and checkDisplay a Steam URL address when available
.Regardless of having a profile created or not, there'll still be a "Add Friend" button, followed by a message in red asking you to encourage the "friend" to create a profile, if one hasn't been set up yet. This also applies to Private accounts where instead of asking you to ask your friend to setup a profile, it simply gives a "This profile is private." message. (And the "Add Friend" button.)
These examples have been created with this account.
Based on your title:
The Steam Limited account restrictions (as far as I can recall) have been around since before 2012. The recent update was only simply a rule change.
Previously, you only needed to activate a CD key or make any purchase to lift the restrictions. Now, you have to spend a minimum of $5USD.
Anyway, a limited account can do the following:
But it cannot do the following:
So, if you haven't already deduced...
The only way you can connect with your sister's limited account is for you to send the friend invite itself.
As far as I know, there are no trading restrictions on a new account.
Except for the usual TF2 thing where item drops are non-tradable until upgraded to a Premium Account or (and not a standard Steam Account).