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If I create a Google Doc and set it to view only, will other users(logged in or not logged in) be able to see my profile pic or my email/username?

If they can see one of these things, is there a way to hide it?

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Short answer

Google document view only users could see your Google profile name and picture on:

  • the list of files on Google Drive / Google documents app showing you as the file owner
  • on the Google Documents editor when you open the file at the same time as the viewer

There is no way to hide this information but you could set the name and picture that you wants, even to keep the default picture. At this time instead of person silhouette, the first name initial is shown. The alternative is to publish to the web instead of sharing.

Explanation

Publishing to the web

See this answer to Sharing Google Spreadsheets Privately

Official documentation extracts

From Edit your Google Account information

What Google does with this information

Google uses this information to help other users of Google products (like Hangouts, Gmail, and Maps) learn more about you and easily get in touch. For example, when you're having a conversation with someone on the Gmail or Hangouts app, they can click or touch your display photo, which shows the contact details you've decided to share.

Learn how to control how others see your information across Google.

From Control what others see about you across Google services

Preview what your information looks like to others

You can use the "Preview" feature to see how your information might appear to others who have permission to see it.

Preview how your information shows up

  1. Sign in to About me.
  2. On the top left, select the Menu Menu and then Preview. A panel will appear with your information organized in cards.
  3. To close this view, click or tap outside the panel.

Other users who are looking at your information in an app might see different content than what's shown here. What they see depends on a few things, including:

  • What information you've shared with who
  • What selection of information the app displays about you
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  • Thanks for the great answer. Just to clarify, if I publish to the web and just share the link in the address bar, the person who receives it will not see my information?
    – airsquared
    Dec 12, 2016 at 16:33
  • @books453: How do you will share the link? Did you already published to the web a Google document?
    – Rubén ♦
    Dec 12, 2016 at 19:04
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    @books453 A document published to the web "as a web page" looks almost like an ordinary page, with no indication of an author. You can see exactly what other people will see by opening it in the Incognito mode of your browser.
    – user135384
    Dec 13, 2016 at 4:41
  • This answer may need updating – at least for some files that are shared as view-only with others (anyone with the link, I assume), the viewers are shown as "Anonymous [Animal]".
    – V2Blast
    Mar 10 at 18:00

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