Discord overlay is a feature that allows users to access Discord voice and text channels directly from within a game, without having to alt-tab out. This can be particularly useful for gamers who want to communicate with their friends or teammates during gameplay. However, some users may find the overlay intrusive or unnecessary, especially if they are playing solo or prefer to use other communication methods. Additionally, some users have reported that disabling the overlay can improve game performance, as it reduces the number of processes running in the background.
How to Turn off Discord Overlay
The process for turning off the overlay feature on Discord is similar for Windows OS, Mac OS, and Chromebook. You have two options: Disabling overlay for all the games at once or disabling it for particular games only. We shall go through each of these individually.
How to Disable Discord Overlay for All Games
Follow these steps to disable Discord overlay for all games:
1. Launch Discord via a desktop app installed on your PC or the Discord web version on your web browser.
2. Log in to your account and click on the gear icon from the bottom-left corner of the screen. The User settings window will appear. Refer to the given pic.
3. Scroll down to Activity settings from the left panel and click on the Game overlay.
4. Toggle off the option titled Enable in-game overlay, as shown here.
Launch any game while running Discord in the background and confirm that the chat overlay has disappeared from the screen.
Also Read: Fix Discord Screen Share Audio Not Working
How to Disable Discord Overlay for Selected Games
Here is how to disable Discord overlay for particular games:
1. Launch Discord and navigate to User settings, as explained above.
2. Click the Game overlay option under Activity settings in the left panel.
3. Check if the in-game overlay is enabled. If not, Toggle on the option titled Enable in-game overlay. Refer to pic below.
4. Next, switch to the Game activity tab from the left panel.
5. You will be able to see all your games here. Select the games for which you wish to disable the game overlay.
Note: If you don’t see the game you are looking for, click on Add it option to add that game to the games list.
6. Finally, turn off the Overlay option visible next to these games.
The overlay feature will not work for the specified games and will remain enabled for the rest.
How to Disable Discord overlay from Steam
Most gamers use the Steam store to download and play games. Steam, too, has an overlay option. Hence, you don’t need to disable the overlay on Discord specifically. You can disable Discord overlay for the Steam platform from within the platform.
Here is how to disable Discord overlay on Steam:
1. Launch the Steam app on your PC and click on the Steam tab from the top of the window.
2. Go to Steam settings, as shown.
3. A new window will appear on your screen. Click on the in-game tab from the left panel.
4. Next, check the box marked Enable the Steam overlay while in-game to disable overlay. Refer to the given pic.
5. Finally, click on OK from the bottom of the screen to save the new changes.
Now, the in-game overlay will be disabled when you play games on Steam.
Also Read: How to Completely Uninstall Discord on Windows 10
Additional Fix
How to disable text chats without disabling Discord overlay
Discord is such a versatile platform that it even provides you the option of disabling the text chats rather than disabling the In-game overlay completely. This is extremely beneficial as you wouldn’t need to spend time to enable or disable overlay for specific games. Instead, you can leave the in-game overlay enabled yet, and you would no longer be disturbed by pinging chats.
Follow the given steps to disable text chats:
1. Launch Discord and go to User settings by clicking on the gear icon.
2. Click on the Overlay tab under Activity settings from the panel on the left.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and toggle off the option titled Show text chat notifications toggle, as shown below.
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We hope our guide on how to disable Discord overlay was helpful, and you were able to turn off the overlay feature for all or a few games. If you have any queries or suggestions regarding this article, let us know in the comment section.
