Meta Ad Library: Researching Competitors' Ads
The Meta Ad Library lets anyone see the ads a business is running on Facebook and Instagram right now. This guide explains which ads are listed and for how long, what details you get for ordinary, political, EU and UK ads, how to search it for competitor research, and when the Ad Library Report or API is the better tool.
This guide is based on Meta's own pages: the Business Help Center article About the Meta Ad Library, the Ad Library start page, the Ad Library API page and the Transparency Center overview of Meta Ad Library tools. Meta changes its interface often, so labels and filters may look slightly different when you visit.
What the Ad Library is
Meta calls the Ad Library "a comprehensive hub that facilitates ad transparency". It is a public, searchable list of ads on Facebook, Instagram and Meta's other apps. The Library "contains all active ads that are shown across Meta technologies", plus active, public branded content on Facebook and Instagram that carries a paid partnership label.
Anyone can view and search it at facebook.com/ads/library. You can search for any term, name or Page, and the results can include ads that contain the term or ads run by Pages whose name contains it. Meta says an ad appears in the Library within 24 hours of its first impression, and changes to an ad also show up within 24 hours. One exception: if an ad includes certain age-restricted content, such as alcohol or gambling, the creative is not shown to people who are underage or not logged into Facebook.
For marketers this makes the Library a free window into what other advertisers are running right now: their offers, formats, wording and landing pages. If you are new to Meta advertising, our Meta Ads basics guide explains campaigns, ad sets and ads first.
Which ads are listed, and for how long
How much the Library shows depends on what the ad is about and where it was delivered. Meta's help article sorts ads into four groups:
| Ad group | When it is listed | Extra details shown |
|---|---|---|
| All other active ads | Only while active; not archived | Creative, the Page it ran from and the dates it ran |
| Ads about social issues, elections or politics | Active and inactive, archived for 7 years | Amount spent and impressions as ranges, reach by age, gender and location, estimated audience size, disclaimer showing who paid for the ad, Page-level targeting selections |
| Ads delivered to the EU or associated territories | While active, then archived for 1 year after the last impression | Total reach, reach by location, age and gender, ad-level targeting (location, age, gender), advertiser and payer information |
| Ads delivered to the United Kingdom | While active, then archived for 1 year after the last impression | Total reach, reach by location, age and gender, ad-level targeting (location, age, gender) |
The EU listing exists "as a result of regulatory requirements in the EU Digital Services Act"; Meta describes the UK listing as a commitment to expand transparency there. The Ad Library start page puts the UK rule this way: ads "that have run in the UK in the past year and that have run after July 1, 2025". For EU and UK ads, the Library only shows information that relates to those regions. An ad about social issues that also reached the UK or EU shows both sets of details.
Spend figures are only shown for ads about social issues, elections or politics, and even then as a range "but not the exact amount", for example $1,000 to $5,000. For an ordinary commercial ad shown only outside the EU and UK, you see the creative, the Page and the dates, and nothing about budget or results.
Searching the Library
The start page asks you to set your location and choose an ad category, then search by keyword or advertiser. In practice:
- Pick a country. The country selector decides which country's ads you see. To see the extra EU or UK details, pick a country in that region.
- Pick an ad category. Choose all ads, or narrow to ads about social issues, elections or politics.
- Search. Type a brand, a Page name or a keyword. Searching a Page name and selecting the advertiser shows the active ads from that Page, with creative and copy.
- Open the details. Click See ad details for more, such as details from the About section or information about the lead form of a lead ad.
When you view a Page in the Library you also see Page Transparency details: when the Page was created, its name change history, the Pages and connected accounts, organizations that manage it and the primary countries it is managed from. For ads about social issues, elections or politics, Meta lists more filters, including status (active or inactive), delivery by region, language, platform, media type, disclaimer, impressions by date and estimated audience size.
Using it to research competitors
The Library does not show performance, so treat it as a record of what a competitor chose to run, not proof of what works. Within that limit it answers useful questions:
- What are they promoting right now? Their active ads show current offers, seasonal pushes and which products get paid support.
- Which formats do they use? The Library shows the creative itself, so you can see whether they lean on images, video or carousels. Some ads run in several versions, each with its own text.
- How do they write? Headlines, opening lines and calls to action are visible in full. Use them to see which angles are crowded, then find your own; our website copywriting basics guide covers writing clear, specific copy.
- Where does the click go? Following an ad to its landing page shows how the offer continues after the ad.
- How long has it been running? Each ad shows the date it started running, which hints at what they keep paying for.
If a competitor also advertises in the EU or the UK, set the country to one of those markets. Their ads there stay listed for a year after the last impression and come with reach and targeting details you will not get for ads shown only in other countries. Remember that copying a competitor's ad text or creative is not research; the Library is for learning what the market looks like.
Branded content search
Creator posts tagged with a paid partnership label are searchable separately. Meta says the Library includes branded content created on or after August 17, 2023, and shows the creation date, the creator, the brand partner, the type of post (for example video or Reel) and a link. You search by Page or Instagram profile and must select either Facebook or Instagram and a date range. This is a quick way to see which creators a competitor works with.
The Ad Library Report
The Ad Library Report covers only ads about social issues, elections or politics. Meta describes it as "an aggregated and comprehensive view" of those ads "in a given country for a given period of time". It shows spending totals and spending by advertiser and location, can be downloaded, and is available in all countries that require authorization to run these ads. It is useful if you run issue-based campaigns or work for a nonprofit or public body; for commercial competitor research, the search page and the API are more relevant.
The Ad Library API
The API lets you run custom searches in code. It does not cover every ad: per Meta's API page, it returns ads about social issues, elections or politics delivered anywhere in the world in the past 7 years, and ads of any type delivered to the UK or the European Union in the past year. Meta suggests that some familiarity with programming helps, and points beginners to the Ad Library Report instead.
Access takes three steps, and you need a Facebook account:
- Confirm your identity and location at Facebook.com/ID, the same process used for running ads about social issues, elections or politics. Meta says it can take a few days.
- Create a Meta for Developers account and agree to the Platform Policy.
- Return to the Ad Library API page, select Access the API and create a new app.
A few parameters worth knowing: ad_reached_countries is required; search_terms is limited to 100 characters, and search_type switches between matching the words in any order and an exact phrase; search_page_ids takes up to ten Page IDs; and ad_active_status defaults to active ads unless you ask for inactive ones or all. Results include the Library ID, the ad creative, the Page name and ID, delivery dates and where the ad appeared. Meta notes you "cannot currently download a batch of archived ads"; you can download the creative of an individual ad for analysis, within its Terms of Service.
Your own ads in the Library
Every active ad you run is in the Library too, so customers and competitors can see your full set of live ads in one place. It is worth searching your own Page now and then: old variants you forgot to switch off, mismatched messages across ads and outdated offers are all easy to spot there. If you test many automated variations with Advantage+ campaigns, the Library shows what is actually live.
If a previously active ad is rejected or disabled, Meta covers it with a shield in the Library. For ads about social issues, elections or politics, people can still click See ad details and view the ad. For ads that reached the EU or UK, a shield covers the content so it cannot be seen, while the associated data stays listed for a year after the last impression. Anyone can report ads they think are misclassified, should carry a disclaimer, or may go against Meta's Advertising Standards.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Meta Ad Library free?
Yes. Anyone can view and search it at facebook.com/ads/library. Without being logged in, you will not see the creative of ads with certain age-restricted content, such as alcohol or gambling.
Can I see how much a competitor spends on Meta ads?
Only for ads about social issues, elections or politics, and then only as a range. For other ads the Library shows the creative, the Page and the dates, not spend or results.
Can I see a competitor's old, inactive ads?
Ads about social issues, elections or politics stay listed for 7 years. Ads delivered to the EU or UK stay listed for a year after their last impression. Other ads are only listed while active.
How quickly does a new ad appear in the Ad Library?
Meta says within 24 hours of its first impression. Changes to an ad also show up within 24 hours.
Who can use the Ad Library API?
Anyone who confirms their identity and location with Meta, creates a Meta for Developers account and sets up an app. The API covers political and issue ads from the past 7 years and all ads delivered to the UK or EU in the past year.
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