How to use the Meta Ad Library: a complete guide

The Meta Ad Library (still often called the Facebook Ad Library) is Meta's free, public list of the ads running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. Anyone can search it at facebook.com/ads/library, with or without an account.

This guide covers how to search it, what each filter does, how to read an ad, and its limits.

How to search the Meta Ad Library

1. Open the Ad Library.
2. Choose a country, or All to search everywhere.
3. Choose an ad category: All ads for commercial ads, or Issues, elections or politics for political ads.
4. Type in the search box. You can search:
   • keywords that appear in the ad's text;
   • an advertiser name (pick it from the suggestions to see all its ads);
   • a Library ID to open one specific ad.
5. Press Enter, then narrow down with the filters.

Tip: put a phrase in quotes, or choose the exact-phrase option, to avoid ads that contain only one of your words.

The filters

| Filter | What it does | |---|---| | Language | Ads written in a given language | | Advertiser | Only ads from the selected pages | | Platform | Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network | | Media type | Images, videos, memes, or ads without media | | Active status | Active, inactive, or both | | Date range | When the ad started (or ran) |

Reading an ad

Each result shows the advertiser, the Library ID, the date it started running, the platforms, and the ad itself. See ad details opens more:

• the versions of the ad (many advertisers run several copies of the same ad);
• for ads shown in the EU, extra transparency data such as reach and the audience's age and gender;
• for political ads, the amount spent and who paid.

The start date is the most useful number for product research. An ad that has been running for weeks is usually an ad that pays for itself.

What the Library keeps, and for how long

• Commercial ads appear while they're active. Outside the EU, they disappear from the Library once they stop.
• Ads shown in the EU stay visible for a year after they last ran, with more details (an effect of the EU's Digital Services Act).
• Ads about social issues, elections or politics are kept for seven years, with spend and audience data.

Common problems

"Search isn't working" or returns nothing. Check the country: a search in one country only shows ads delivered there. Switch to All. Then check the category is All ads, not political ads only.

Too many unrelated results. Use quotes for an exact phrase, filter by language, or search the advertiser instead of a keyword.

The ad you're looking for doesn't show. It may have stopped (and isn't in the EU archive), it may use different words than you think, or the text may be in another language. Ads can also take up to a day to appear.

You only have a picture. The Library has no image search. See can you search the Meta Ad Library by image? for what to do instead.

What people use it for

• Competitor research: what a competitor is selling, which offers and angles, and since when. See how to see your competitors' ads.
• Product research: whether a product is already advertised, by how many stores, and for how long.
• Creative ideas: formats, hooks and offers that keep running.
• Checking a store: whether a shop you're about to buy from is a real, active advertiser.
• Finding an ad you saw: see how to find a Facebook or Instagram ad you saw.

Searching by product picture

The Library is built around words. When what you have is a product, not a keyword, Squinto searches the Library from a picture and shows the active ads with the same product, in every country. The first search is free, with no account.

Questions

Is the Meta Ad Library free? Yes, and you don't need a Facebook account to search it.

Can I download ads from the Library? Not with a button in the Library itself. Many third-party tools offer it; check the advertiser's rights before reusing an ad.

Is there an API? Yes, Meta has an Ad Library API, but outside the EU it mostly covers political and issue ads.