How to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents

Want to know how to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents? Every time you use it to create a document, the office suite saves information like your author name, creation date and other metadataIf you frequently share files, you may not want this personal data to be visible. How do I remove it?

Metadata in documents: Why remove your author name from LibreOffice documents

LibreOffice is one of the most widely used office suites in the world, especially by those looking for a free and open source alternative to Microsoft Office (see the article LibreOffice vs. Microsoft Office: Which is the best free office suite?). It works like a charm, but, like other word processing programs, saves metadata in documentsThis can be a privacy issue, especially if you prepare files that you then share online.

Removing your author name from LibreOffice documents is necessary because The suite uses this data automatically to label files. that you create with it. It extracts it from your user profile, which is set up when you install the program or open it for the first time. The name you enter there will be used as the default author for all new documents you create.

In addition to your profile name, other metadata that is embedded in the files include the date they were created and modified. Also included is the version history and any comments or annotations with a name. The problem with all this information is that it's visible to other users if the document is shared, which could compromise your privacy.

Now do you see why it can be useful to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents? This is especially necessary if it's legal or confidential documents, files shared in public environments such as forums or social networks. Whenever you want to remain anonymous and remain undetected, it's best to review and remove this metadata before distributing your files.

How to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents

If you don't want to reveal more information than you're willing to share, you should learn how to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents. How? The first thing we'll do is make sure that the new files you prepare don't come signed with your name. To do this, you need to change the default author name in the office suite by following these steps:

1. Open LibreOffice.
2. Click on the tab Tools and select the entry Options.
3. In the left panel, expand LibreOffice and select User data.
4. You will see a series of fields open in the right menu. In the field Name, Delete your user profile name or enter a generic one (“User”).
5. Click on Accept To save the changes.

By making this change, you ensure that new documents do not include your name as the author. Obviously, this will not affect files you've already created. Therefore, How to remove your author name from previously created LibreOffice documents? It's also simple:

1. Open the document in LibreOffice.
2. Go to Archive - Properties
3. Now select the tab Description.
4. In the countryside Author/Editor, remove your name or change it to a generic one.
5. You can also delete other metadata such as Keyword or Comments.
6. Click on Accept To save the changes.

How to remove hidden metadata from a file

Among the many options LibreOffice offers is the ability to convert text files into PDF documents before sharing them. This way, you can ensure that the file retains its original format regardless of the program or operating system used to open it. What you may not know is that, During the conversion process, you can also remove your author name from LibreOffice documents., as well as other metadata. Just follow these steps:

1. Open the document in LibreOffice.
2. Go to Archive - Export as PDF.
3. In the export window, click on General.
4. Now check the option Remove personal information.
5. Export the file as PDF.

Removing your author name from LibreOffice documents with external tools

Finally, let's see how to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents using third-party tools. very powerful applications to clean metadata of multiple files on Windows, macOS, and Linux. They're very useful if you want to remove any personal information embedded in images, presentations, and various types of documents.

Use MAT2 on Linux computers

If you are using Linux and need to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents, MAT2 is a quite effective option. His full name is Metadata Anonymization Toolkit 2, and is an ideal command-line tool for cleaning metadata. It actually creates a copy of the original file, but free of any metadata that reveals personal information.

To install it, just open the console and run the command sudo apt install mat2. Once installed, you can create metadata-free copies of LibreOffice documents with the command mat2 file.odtRemember to replace the word "file" with the name of the document you want to clean.

On Windows, nothing better than Doc Scrubber

Another effective tool for removing your author name from LibreOffice documents, as well as other metadata, is Doc Scrubber. It is designed to clean metadata from .doc files (Microsoft Word), but it can be helpful if you convert your .odt document to .doc before sharing it. You can Download Doc Scrubber from its official website and install it on your Windows computer. Using it is easy:

1. Save your LibreOffice document as a .doc.
2. Open Doc Scrubber.
3. Select the file and choose “Scrup Document”.
4. Next, select the options to delete author, history, revisions, etc.
5. Save the clean file and you're done.

Remove your author name from LibreOffice documents with ExifTool

If you are looking for a cross-platform tool to remove metadata from any file, the best is ExifTool. Simply go to the official website and download the executable for your operating system. Once installed, you can use it for basic purposes with the exiftool -all=file.odt command to remove all metadata from a LibreOffice document.

In conclusion, we've seen different ways to remove your author name from LibreOffice documents, as well as the rest of the metadata. Although we rarely pay attention to this detail, it can be crucial for protect your privacy and security on the InternetWhichever method you use, you'll prevent third parties from knowing that you created a particular document. There's no telling how much trouble this can save you!