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The Facebook Ad Library—now generally called the Meta Ad Library—is Meta’s searchable service for viewing ads and related advertiser information. It includes active ads and provides additional disclosures and an archive for political and social-issue ads, with coverage and details varying by country and ad category.
What the Meta Ad Library is
Meta introduced the refreshed library in 2019 as a place to search for active ads run by Pages across its platforms, as well as additional information about Pages and advertisers. People can search by Page name or keywords. It is an advertising transparency resource, not a marketing course or a product. Meta’s 2019 overview describes the launch and its features.
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What information appears in the library?
Commercial ads
Meta’s 2019 overview described active ads run by Pages and information such as a Page’s creation date and name changes. It also described the primary country of Page managers in supported cases. This is not a promise that every inactive commercial ad remains available as a permanent record; the coverage and fields a visitor sees depend on the ad and location.
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These ads have additional transparency information. Meta’s announcements describe “paid for by” disclaimers and, where applicable, advertiser spending and impression information. Meta’s 2018 US announcement also described campaign budget and audience-reach information, including age, location, and gender. The fields are category- and jurisdiction-specific, so check the live library for what is displayed on a particular record. Meta’s political-content announcement outlines the US transparency measures.
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How to look up an ad or Page
- Open the Meta Ad Library.
- Select the country relevant to your search and choose an ad category. Available categories and records differ by jurisdiction.
- Search for a Page or enter keywords, then open a result to review its creative and any available advertiser or transparency details.
For a political or social-issue ad in the United States, the advertiser must complete Meta’s authorization process and include a “paid for by” disclaimer. Meta’s election safeguards explain these requirements and related Page or account transparency information.
How long political ads stay available
Meta states that political and social-issue ads are stored in the library for seven years. That is a retention window, not permanent storage: in a May 21, 2025 update, Meta said records reaching seven years would begin leaving the Ad Library, API, and Ad Library Report on May 24, 2025. Older records can therefore age out. Meta’s updated archive announcement describes the retention period and expiration timing.
For scale, Meta reported more than 18 million US entries in the Ad Library in its February 19, 2026 article about the US midterm elections. That is a dated US count, not a current worldwide total. Meta also says certain AI-created or AI-altered political ads require disclosure. Meta’s 2026 midterm update provides that context.
Can researchers use the Ad Library API?
Meta has described an Ad Library API intended to support analysis of political or issue ads. Meta’s 2019 account of access listed identity confirmation, a Facebook Developer account, and agreement to platform terms; it said identity confirmation could take up to a few weeks at that time. Those are historical access details, not confirmation of current eligibility, timing, or API endpoints. Researchers should consult Meta’s current documentation before planning a project.
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