Guide · ad libraries
How to use the Meta Ad Library
The Meta Ad Library is Meta’s public database of every ad currently running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network, open to anyone. Go to facebook.com/ads/library, choose a country and the All ads category, then search a keyword or an advertiser. For an ordinary ad it shows the creative, the Page that ran it and the date it started, but no spend, impressions or reach.
What the Meta Ad Library is
It holds every ad currently running across Meta’s apps, plus branded content on Facebook and Instagram marked as a paid partnership. Anyone can view and search it. It also keeps ads about social issues, elections or politics for seven years, ads that ran in the EU in the past year, and ads that ran in the UK in the past year and after July 1, 2025.
A new ad appears within 24 hours of its first impression, and changes to an ad show up within 24 hours too.
Source: Meta Business Help Center, Meta
How to search the Meta Ad Library
- Go to facebook.com/ads/library.
- Set your country.
- Under Ad category, choose All ads. The others are Issues, elections or politics; Properties; Employment; and Financial products and services.
- Search a keyword, or type an advertiser’s name and pick their Page to see every active ad from it.
- Narrow the results by platform (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or the Audience Network) or by when the ads received impressions.
- Open See ad details on an ad for more, such as its Page’s About section or its lead form.
Source: Facebook Help Center, Meta
Search tips from Meta
- Put a phrase in quotes to match those words in that order, such as "refillable skincare".
- You can search more than one quoted phrase at once.
- Leave the quotes off to find ads with all the words, in any order.
- Set the country and the category before you search: the results depend on both.
Source: Meta
What the Meta Ad Library shows for each ad
| Ordinary ads | Ads shown in the EU or UK | Political ads | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative and the Page that ran it | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dates the ad ran | Start date only | Yes | Yes |
| Kept after it stops | No | 1 year | 7 years |
| Reach | No | Total, by age, gender and location | By age, gender and location |
| Targeting | No | Location, age and gender | A summary for the Page |
| Spend and impressions | No | No | As ranges |
| Who paid | No | Advertiser and payer, in the EU | Disclaimer |
So for an ordinary ad aimed outside Europe you get the creative, the Page and the start date, and nothing about spend or results. Opening a Page’s ads also shows when the Page was created and its name history.
Source: Meta Business Help Center
What the Meta Ad Library won’t show you
- Spend, impressions or results for ordinary ads.
- Ordinary ads that have stopped running.
- Age-restricted creative, such as alcohol or gambling ads, to anyone underage or logged out.
- Ads removed for serious Community Standards violations or at a valid government request.
See which creators a brand pays
The library also holds branded content: public Facebook and Instagram posts with a paid partnership label, created on or after August 17, 2023. Each shows the date, the creator, the brand partner, the type of post and a link to it.
Open Branded content at the top of the library, choose Facebook or Instagram and a date range, then search a Page or an Instagram profile. Search a competitor’s Page to see the creators it has paid partnerships with.
Source: Meta Business Help Center, Meta
The Ad Library Report and API
The Ad Library Report is a downloadable, country-by-country view of ads about social issues, elections or politics, with spending totals. The Ad Library API allows deeper analysis of those ads and of ads delivered to the EU. Neither adds spend or reach for ordinary ads shown elsewhere.
Source: Meta Business Help Center, Meta
How to research a competitor with it
- Search the competitor by name and open their Page’s ads, then search the words customers use for your category to find advertisers you didn’t know about.
- Read each ad’s start date. An ad that has run for months is one its advertiser keeps paying for: a signal worth studying, not proof that it’s profitable.
- Look for one message in several versions. New hooks, images or offers on the same idea point to a test in progress.
- Note each ad’s hook, angle, offer and format, and the landing page it sends people to.
- Copy each ad’s link with the date you read it: ordinary ads leave the library when they stop running.
The same research in one prompt
By hand, it’s one library and one advertiser at a time. Oneirosea searches Meta’s, TikTok’s, LinkedIn’s and Google’s ad libraries in one go, links every ad to its library entry, and breaks down the hooks, angles and offers that repeat.
Show me the ads the top refillable skincare brands are running on Meta and TikTok, how long each has run, and the hooks and offers they repeat.
Common questions
Is the Meta Ad Library free?
Yes. Anyone can view and search it at facebook.com/ads/library. Downloading search results requires logging in to Facebook.
Can you see how much a competitor spends on Meta ads?
Only for ads about social issues, elections or politics, which show a spend range. Ordinary ads show no spend or impressions; ads shown in the EU or UK add reach and targeting, but not spend.
How far back does the Meta Ad Library go?
Ordinary ads stay only while they run. Ads shown in the EU stay for a year after their last impression, as do UK ads that ran after July 1, 2025, and political ads stay for seven years.
Is the Facebook Ad Library the same as the Meta Ad Library?
Yes. It is the same library, at facebook.com/ads/library, covering ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network.
How do I see a competitor’s Instagram ads?
Search the competitor in the Meta Ad Library and filter the platform to Instagram. Instagram ads run through Meta, so they are in the same library.
Sources
- About the Meta Ad LibraryMeta Business Help Center, read October 26, 2026
- What is the Meta Ad Library and how do I search it?Facebook Help Center, read October 26, 2026
- Ad Library, with its search tipsMeta, read October 26, 2026