diff --git a/src/notes/note-metadata.dto.ts b/src/notes/note-metadata.dto.ts
index e41433720..46251c9df 100644
--- a/src/notes/note-metadata.dto.ts
+++ b/src/notes/note-metadata.dto.ts
@@ -77,10 +77,10 @@ export class NoteMetadataDto {
   /**
    * User that last edited the note
    */
-  @ValidateNested()
-  @ApiPropertyOptional({ type: UserInfoDto })
+  @IsString()
+  @ApiPropertyOptional()
   @IsOptional()
-  updateUser: UserInfoDto | null;
+  updateUsername: string | null;
 
   /**
    * Counts how many times the published note has been viewed
diff --git a/src/notes/notes.service.spec.ts b/src/notes/notes.service.spec.ts
index 84e50d02e..febf0b540 100644
--- a/src/notes/notes.service.spec.ts
+++ b/src/notes/notes.service.spec.ts
@@ -790,7 +790,7 @@ describe('NotesService', () => {
       expect(metadataDto.tags).toHaveLength(1);
       expect(metadataDto.tags[0]).toEqual((await note.tags)[0].name);
       expect(metadataDto.updatedAt).toEqual(revisions[0].createdAt);
-      expect(metadataDto.updateUser.username).toEqual(user.username);
+      expect(metadataDto.updateUsername).toEqual(user.username);
       expect(metadataDto.viewCount).toEqual(note.viewCount);
     });
   });
@@ -896,7 +896,7 @@ describe('NotesService', () => {
       expect(noteDto.metadata.tags).toHaveLength(1);
       expect(noteDto.metadata.tags[0]).toEqual((await note.tags)[0].name);
       expect(noteDto.metadata.updatedAt).toEqual(revisions[0].createdAt);
-      expect(noteDto.metadata.updateUser.username).toEqual(user.username);
+      expect(noteDto.metadata.updateUsername).toEqual(user.username);
       expect(noteDto.metadata.viewCount).toEqual(note.viewCount);
       expect(noteDto.content).toEqual(content);
     });
diff --git a/src/notes/notes.service.ts b/src/notes/notes.service.ts
index 7d9968046..1154515ec 100644
--- a/src/notes/notes.service.ts
+++ b/src/notes/notes.service.ts
@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ export class NotesService {
       permissions: await this.toNotePermissionsDto(note),
       tags: await this.toTagList(note),
       updatedAt: (await this.getLatestRevision(note)).createdAt,
-      updateUser: updateUser ? this.usersService.toUserDto(updateUser) : null,
+      updateUsername: updateUser ? updateUser.username : null,
       viewCount: note.viewCount,
     };
   }
diff --git a/test/public-api/me.e2e-spec.ts b/test/public-api/me.e2e-spec.ts
index e2d42fcb1..6549191ac 100644
--- a/test/public-api/me.e2e-spec.ts
+++ b/test/public-api/me.e2e-spec.ts
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ describe('Me', () => {
     const noteMetaDtos = response.body as NoteMetadataDto[];
     expect(noteMetaDtos).toHaveLength(1);
     expect(noteMetaDtos[0].primaryAlias).toEqual(noteName);
-    expect(noteMetaDtos[0].updateUser?.username).toEqual(user.username);
+    expect(noteMetaDtos[0].updateUsername).toEqual(user.username);
   });
 
   it('GET /me/media', async () => {
diff --git a/test/public-api/notes.e2e-spec.ts b/test/public-api/notes.e2e-spec.ts
index fada69db8..15e09af4c 100644
--- a/test/public-api/notes.e2e-spec.ts
+++ b/test/public-api/notes.e2e-spec.ts
@@ -281,10 +281,7 @@ describe('Notes', () => {
       expect(metadata.body.permissions.sharedToUsers).toEqual([]);
       expect(metadata.body.tags).toEqual([]);
       expect(typeof metadata.body.updatedAt).toEqual('string');
-      expect(typeof metadata.body.updateUser.displayName).toEqual('string');
-      expect(typeof metadata.body.updateUser.username).toEqual('string');
-      expect(typeof metadata.body.updateUser.email).toEqual('string');
-      expect(typeof metadata.body.updateUser.photo).toEqual('string');
+      expect(typeof metadata.body.updateUsername).toEqual('string');
       expect(typeof metadata.body.viewCount).toEqual('number');
       expect(metadata.body.editedBy).toEqual([]);
     });