Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… vs Hide/Remove Metadata (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
90K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… has a higher user rating (4.9/5 from 89 reviews) and leads in active installations (90K+ vs 20K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… has accumulated 1.8M+ total downloads while Hide/Remove Metadata has 292K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… | Hide/Remove Metadata | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.9/5 | ◄ | 3.6/5 |
| Total Reviews | 89 | ◄ | 14 |
| Active Installs | 90K+ | ◄ | 20K+ |
| Total Downloads | 1.8M+ | ◄ | 292K+ |
| Support Resolution | 67% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 5 days ago | ◄ | 3 weeks ago |
| First Released | 2010 | 2019 | |
| Age | 16 years | 7 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.7+ | 5.9+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.4+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.4.5 | 2.0 |
Rating Breakdown
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses…
Hide/Remove Metadata
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… averaged approximately 1,893 daily downloads while Hide/Remove Metadata averaged 510.
Recent Reviews
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… Reviews
Nice Free Plugin
Good free plugin. I hope it will soon be able to automatically recognize phone numbers
Been using it for years!
I’m actually impressed that it’s still free.
Excellent plugin and support
Excellent plugin and support. Highly recommended.
Hide/Remove Metadata Reviews
Doesn’t do anything at all
Does nothing in css or php. Useless.
Did not work using the CSS options, but the PHP option worked well
The CSS option didn’t do anything for my site, but when I selected the PHP option, it removed the date as it was supposed to. It has an option to remove the author too, but I didn’t try that as I d
Working fine on WordPress 6.1.1
PHP option remove the icon as well, working fine on WordPress 6.1.1
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Which has better ratings — Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… or Hide/Remove Metadata?
Are Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses… and Hide/Remove Metadata free?
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.