Hide/Remove Metadata vs Author Spotlight (Widget) (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Author Spotlight (Widget)
100 active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Author Spotlight (Widget) has a higher user rating (4.5/5 from 2 reviews) while Hide/Remove Metadata leads in active installations (20K+ vs 100). Both are free WordPress plugins. Hide/Remove Metadata has accumulated 292K+ total downloads while Author Spotlight (Widget) has 29K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Hide/Remove Metadata | Author Spotlight (Widget) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 3.6/5 | ► | 4.5/5 |
| Total Reviews | 14 | ◄ | 2 |
| Active Installs | 20K+ | ◄ | 100 |
| Total Downloads | 292K+ | ◄ | 29K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 3 weeks ago | ◄ | 9 years ago |
| First Released | 2019 | 2009 | |
| Age | 7 years | 17 years | |
| WP Requires | 5.9+ | 3.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | false+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 2.0 | 3.4 |
Rating Breakdown
Hide/Remove Metadata
Author Spotlight (Widget)
Download Trends
Recent Reviews
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
Author Spotlight (Widget) Reviews
No reviews yet
More Plugins Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Hide/Remove Metadata and Author Spotlight (Widget)
Allows an admin (or capable user) to edit the author slug of a user, and change the author base.
Remove meta author and date information from posts and pages. Hide from Humans and Search engines.SEO friendly and most advance plugin.
Don't need the post date and author meta data on your pages? Install WP Author, Date and Meta Remover and its gone. It's that easy!
Easily display your author/user profile info inside WordPress widget.
Display to Post Author Information Box on bottom of the contents.
Disable Author Archives completely removes author archives and makes the web server return status code 404 ('Not Found') instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.