Steam security updates coming next week with longer trade holds

Starting next week, Valve will be implementing new security measure to prevent account and user item theft.

The team will extend the hold on Steam item trades to 15 days and listings on the Steam Community Market will have a hold of 15 days before an item can be sold.

Those trading with long-time Steam friends should not the hold duration will remain at the one day period.

Steam users who are already protected by the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator will not be impacted - or if they add the security feature today.

Also, Steam Support will no longer restore items that have left accounts following a successful trade or market transaction. The reason for this, is the process previously created duplicates of original items.

Valve will implement the new security measures next week on March 9. You can read over the announcement on Steam, which explains things more fully.

The Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator introduced in December, and Valve estimates that 95% of daily trades use the mobile authenticator.

The company said at the time of the authenticator's released there were around "77,000 accounts hijacked and pillaged each month."