What Is Meta Ad Library and How Do You Use It? (2026 Guide)

Meta Ad Library is a free, public database of the ads running across Meta's apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. Anyone can search it at facebook.com/ads/library by keyword or advertiser, and you don't need an ad account to use it. For most ads, you see the creative, the Page that ran it and the date it started. Ads about social issues, elections or politics show much more, including spend and impression ranges, and stay archived for seven years.

What you can see depends on two things: the type of ad and where it was delivered. Ads shown in the EU or the UK, for example, reveal targeting and reach details that ordinary US ads never show.

What Is Meta Ad Library?

Meta describes the Ad Library as a hub for ad transparency. It contains every active ad shown across Meta technologies, plus active, public branded content on Facebook and Instagram that carries a paid partnership label.

It used to be called the Facebook Ad Library. Meta began archiving political and issue ads in 2018, then expanded the library in March 2019 to include all active ads from every Page.

The basics:

• Who can use it: anyone. You don't need to be an advertiser or have an ad account.
• What's in it: all active ads across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network, plus archived ads in certain categories (covered below).
• How fast ads show up: Meta says an ad appears in the Library within 24 hours of its first impression.

Most people use it for one of three jobs. They want to know who is behind an ad they saw, they're researching a competitor's creative, or they're tracking political spending.

How to Search Meta Ad Library

Searching takes a few clicks. This is the order that works:

1. Go to facebook.com/ads/library in any browser.
2. Pick a country from the dropdown. The Library shows ads by country, so choose the market you care about, or All to search everywhere.
3. Choose an ad category. Use All ads for brand and product ads, or Issues, elections or politics for political and social issue ads.
4. Type a keyword or advertiser name into the "Search by keyword or advertiser" box.
5. Pick the advertiser's Page from the suggestions to see only their ads, or run the search as a keyword to find any ad that mentions the term.
6. Narrow the results with filters, then click See ad details on any ad for the full copy, creative and landing page.

Searching by keyword vs. advertiser

• Advertiser search shows the active ads from one Page. Use it when you know exactly whose ads you want.
• Keyword search is broader. Meta says any ads that include the search term, or ads run by Pages whose names include it, may appear.

Keyword search is the better tool for category research. Search "protein powder" or "payroll software" and you'll see how many advertisers are chasing the same buyers and how each one pitches it.

It also catches ads that mention a brand but run from someone else's Page, such as creators, resellers or affiliates. If you're checking how your own brand name shows up in ads, search it as a keyword, not just as a Page.

If a keyword pulls in too much noise, switch to an exact phrase match so the words have to appear together.

Filters worth using

Once results load, the filters do most of the work:

• Active status: active, inactive or all. For ordinary ads outside the EU and UK, inactive ads generally won't be there to find.
• Platform: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or Audience Network.
• Media type: images, videos, memes, or ads with no image or video.
• Language: useful for brands that run the same campaign in several markets.
• Advertiser: narrows a keyword search down to specific Pages.
• Impressions by date: limits results to ads that were shown during a date range.

Searching branded content

There's a separate branded content search for creator posts tagged with a paid partnership label. It covers public, active branded content on Facebook and Instagram created on or after August 17, 2023.

You search by Page or Instagram profile, and you have to pick Facebook or Instagram plus a date range. Each result shows when the post was created, the creator, the brand partner, the post type and a link to the post.

This is handy when a competitor leans on creators instead of, or alongside, ads from its own Page.

If your competitors' ads are easy to find but their pages still outrank yours on Google, get a free SEO audit to see where the gap is.

What You Can See in Meta Ad Library (and What You Can't)

The data you get depends on the type of ad and where it was delivered. Meta treats three groups differently.

Regular ads (not political, not shown in the EU or UK)

This covers most of the product and brand ads you'll research. You can see:

• The ad creative and copy
• The Page that ran it
• The date it started running
• Page transparency details, such as Page history, name changes, the organizations that manage the Page and the main countries it's managed from
• A label if the ad falls under a special ad category (housing, employment, or financial products and services)

You can't see spend, impressions, reach, targeting or estimated audience size. And once the ad stops running, it's gone, because Meta doesn't archive these.

Ads about social issues, elections or politics

These get the most disclosure. They stay in the Library for seven years, whether they're active or not. On top of the basics, you can see:

• Amount spent as a range, for example $1,000 to $5,000
• Impressions as a range, not an exact number
• Who saw it by age and gender as a percentage, plus the locations where it was viewed
• Estimated audience size
• Disclaimer information showing who paid for the ad, along with the contact details the advertiser submitted
• Audience selections aggregated at the Page level for the last 7, 30 or 90 days, including location, age, gender, detailed targeting, language, custom audiences and lookalike audiences

There are two catches. Ads that Meta decides are political after the fact won't carry a disclaimer. And if an ad is later rejected or disabled, Meta covers it with a shield, though you can still open its details.

If you research the EU, know that Meta stopped allowing political, electoral and social issue ads there on October 6, 2025. Meta pointed to the EU's new rules on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA).

Ads delivered to the EU or UK

Under the EU Digital Services Act, Meta displays and archives every ad that delivers an impression in the EU or its associated territories. Meta does the same for ads delivered in the United Kingdom.

These ads stay in the Library for one year after their last impression. For each one, you can see:

• The dates the ad ran
• Ad-level targeting choices for age, gender and location, including what was excluded
• Total reach in the EU or UK
• Reach by location, broken down by age and gender
• For EU ads only, the advertiser (who the ad is for) and the payer (who paid), as entered by the advertiser

You still won't see spend or impression ranges for these ads. But this is the only place the Library shows targeting for ordinary product ads, so it's worth checking whenever a competitor also advertises in Europe or the UK.

One more wrinkle. If an ad includes age-restricted content, such as alcohol or gambling, Meta won't show the creative to people who are underage or not logged in to Facebook.

How Long Do Ads Stay in Meta Ad Library?

Retention follows the same groups:

• Regular ads: only while they're active. Once an ad stops, it drops out.
• Social issue, election or political ads: seven years, active or inactive.
• Ads delivered to the EU or associated territories: one year after the last impression.
• Ads delivered to the UK: one year after the last impression.

If a political ad also delivered to the EU or UK, Meta shows both sets of details.

In practice, if you're tracking a US competitor's regular ads, screenshot or note anything you want to keep. Once the ad stops running, it's gone from the Library.

If you want to know whether your site is losing organic traffic to the same competitors you're tracking here, request a free SEO audit.

What Is the Meta Ad Library Report?

The Ad Library Report is a summary view of ads about social issues, elections or politics. It covers one country over a set period of time, and you can download it.

It's available in every country where Meta requires authorization to run those ads. When you look up a Page, the report data includes its total spend on these ads, spend by disclaimer and spend over the last 7 days.

It's built for questions like "who spent the most on political ads in this country last month?" It doesn't include regular commercial ads, so it won't tell you what a brand spends on product ads.

Meta Ad Library API: What It Covers and Who Can Access It

The Ad Library API lets you query the Library with code instead of the search box. Meta built it for deeper analysis of two groups of ads:

• Ads about social issues, elections or politics
• Ads delivered to the EU and associated territories

Everything else is out of scope. Meta's developer documentation says ads that didn't reach any EU location only come back if they're about social issues, elections or politics. So you can't use the API to pull a US competitor's regular product ads.

Who can access the Ad Library API

Anyone can get access, but there are steps:

1. Confirm your identity and location at Facebook.com/ID. Meta points you to the same process used to get authorized for ads about social issues, elections or politics.
2. Create a Meta for Developers account and agree to Meta's platform terms.
3. Use an access token from your developer account to make requests.

Once you're in, you can filter by the country the ad reached (required), search terms of up to 100 characters, up to 10 Page IDs, platform, language, delivery dates and ad type.

For most marketers, the web interface is enough. The API makes sense for researchers, journalists and teams building their own monitoring for EU markets.

How to Use Meta Ad Library for Competitor Research

The Library doesn't show performance data for regular ads, so you work from signals. These are the ones worth reading.

Check how long an ad has been running

Every ad shows a "Started running on" date. An ad that's been live for months is usually one the advertiser is happy to keep paying for. Brands rarely leave a losing ad up for long.

Treat it as a signal, not proof. Some ads run long because nobody turned them off. Compare the long runners against each other and look for what they share, such as the hook, the offer or the format.

New ads matter too. A batch of ads that all started in the same week usually means a test or a new campaign push.

Look for "This ad has multiple versions"

Some listings carry a note saying the ad has multiple versions. That means several variations of the image, video or text sit under one ad. Open it and go through each version.

This is where you see what a competitor is testing. Pay attention to the headlines and opening lines that change between versions, and to the parts that stay the same.

Note the platforms

The platform icons show where each ad runs: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or Audience Network. If a brand limits an ad to one platform, that's usually a deliberate choice about where its buyers are.

Count active ads and read the patterns

The number of active ads gives you a rough sense of how much creative a brand produces. It doesn't tell you spend. A brand with 200 active ads could be spending less than one with 10.

As you scroll, look for:

• Hooks and angles that repeat across many ads
• Offers, such as discounts, free trials or bundles
• Formats, such as short video, static images or carousels
• Landing pages, which you can open from See ad details

Use EU or UK data for targeting clues

If the competitor advertises in Europe or the UK, switch the country selector to one of those markets. You'll see the age, gender and location targeting for each ad, plus its reach. It's the closest the Library gets to showing who an ad is meant for.

Set a simple weekly routine

Pick three competitors and check them once a week. Note new ads, ads that stopped, and anything that's been running for months. Save screenshots, because regular ads disappear once they stop running.

Once you know what competitors are running on Meta, get a free SEO audit to see how your site compares in Google and AI search.

Other Ways to Use Meta Ad Library

• Check an ad you saw: search the Page name to see who's behind it and what else they're running.
• Protect your brand: search your brand as a keyword to find ads using your name from other Pages. You can report ads you believe break Meta's Advertising Standards.
• Vet an agency or freelancer: look up the clients they name and see whether those brands are actually running ads.

Limitations of Meta Ad Library

Meta built the Library for transparency, so it leaves out most of the numbers marketers want. Keep these limits in mind:

• No numbers for regular ads. Spend, impressions, reach and targeting stay hidden unless the ad is political or delivered to the EU or UK.
• No history for regular ads. Outside the EU and UK, ads drop out once they stop running.
• Country by country. Results depend on the country you select, so research across markets means repeating searches.
• Up to a day behind. New ads can take up to 24 hours to appear.
• Search has blind spots. It works on Page names and ad text. If an ad runs from another Page and never names the brand, it's hard to find.

If your ad research keeps turning up the same competitors, check your own site with a free SEO audit to see whether they're beating you in search too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Meta Ad Library free?

Yes. Anyone can search it at facebook.com/ads/library at no cost, and you don't need an ad account. Meta does ask you to log in to Facebook and accept its Terms of Service before you download search results.

Does Meta Ad Library show all ads?

It shows every active ad running across Meta technologies, plus active branded content with a paid partnership label. Inactive ads only stay if they're about social issues, elections or politics, or were delivered to the EU or UK.

Can you see how much a competitor spends on Meta ads?

Not for regular ads. Spend and impression ranges only appear for ads about social issues, elections or politics. For product ads, the number of active ads and how long they run are the best signals you get.

Why can't I find an ad in Meta Ad Library?

The usual reasons: the ad started less than 24 hours ago, you picked the wrong country, the ad already stopped running, it ran from a different Page, or it's age-restricted and you aren't logged in. Try a keyword search with the country set to All.

Is Meta Ad Library the same as Facebook Ad Library?

Yes. It's the same tool, renamed after Facebook became Meta. It covers ads on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network.

Can I see my own ads in Meta Ad Library?

Yes. Search your Page name to see your active ads the way the public sees them. For spend and results, use Ads Manager, where everything is tied to your Facebook ad account ID.

Final Thoughts

Meta Ad Library is a quick, free way to see what a brand is running on Facebook and Instagram right now. It's strong on creative and weak on numbers. For regular ads, you get no spend, no targeting and no history.

Work with what it does give you: start dates, multiple versions, platforms, and the extra targeting data on EU and UK ads. Save what you find, because regular ads disappear once they stop. A short weekly check on a few competitors will teach you more than one long session every few months.