Pull Request resolves #46898 .

• I read the Generative AI policy and my contribution is either not created with the help of AI or is compatible with the policy and GNU/GPL 2 or later.

Summary of Changes

Fixed Article Info block not obeying "Hide" settings by using output buffering in the layout to prevent empty wrappers/labels from rendering. Added a new "Hide" option to the info_block_position setting and decoupled Tags so they can show even when the info block is hidden.

Testing Instructions

Hide dates: Global Config → Articles → Set "Show Publish Date" to Hide. Verify it's gone from frontend.
Hide position: Menu Item → Article Options → Set "Info Block Position" to Hide. Verify the entire block is gone.
Tags: Enable Tags and set Position to Hide. Verify Tags still appear while the date/author info stays hidden.

Actual result BEFORE applying this Pull Request

CREATED will not show if specified as such, however neither the PUBLISHED nor LAST UPDATED label will hide; it's always there. This could be different for blog layouts versus individual articles.

Expected result AFTER applying this Pull Request

Hidden items and empty wrappers are completely removed from the HTML. A new "Hide" option successfully suppresses the entire info block while allowing Tags to remain visible.

Link to documentations

Please select:

• Documentation link for guide.joomla.org:

• No documentation changes for guide.joomla.org needed

• Pull Request link for manual.joomla.org:

• No documentation changes for manual.joomla.org needed