Meta Ad Library search: what each filter returns

The search box in the Meta Ad Library takes an advertiser or a keyword, and the two return different things. Search for an advertiser and you get the active ads of that Page, while a keyword can bring up ads that include it along with ads run by Pages with it in their name.

Below are the filters on the search page, then searching by ID, why a search comes back empty, Instagram ads and the extra detail on EU ads. Why run time is the signal, and what to do with the ads you find, is in the post on how to see a competitor's Meta ads.

Search by advertiser or by keyword

Meta's help page for the library says you can search for an advertiser to view the active ads from their Page. The See ad details button opens more, such as the About section or a lead ad's form.

A keyword search is wider. The same page says ads that include the term, or ads run by Pages that include it, may appear. Type a competitor's name as a keyword and their ads can come back beside other advertisers' ads that mention them.

Meta's Ad Library API reference describes the API's keyword search in more detail. It covers an ad's text, images, audio from video and call-to-action button. Words match in any order by default, with a second mode for an exact phrase.

The filters on the search page, and what each returns

The search page shows them, as read on 14 October 2026 without logging in. The top row holds a country selector, an ad category selector and the search box. A Filters button opens six more: Language, Advertiser, Platform, Media type, Active status and Impressions by date. Sort by offers Impressions: high to low and Most recent. Meta's API reference says what most of them narrow to.

The API also has byline, delivery by region and audience-size filters, for ads about social issues, elections or politics only.

Search the Meta Ad Library by ID

Every ad's card shows its Library ID, printed as Library ID and a number under the Active or Inactive label. Meta's API reference lists it as the Library ID of the ad object. Meta's help page for the library describes no search by ID, and the API has no field for one, only keywords and up to ten Page IDs.

The library's own address followed by `?id=` and the number opened that advertiser's ads when tried on 14 October 2026. Meta documents no such address, so treat it as something that works today. Write the ID beside any ad you save, because it names that one ad.

Why Meta Ad Library search is not working

Each cause below follows from a rule Meta documents, so each can be checked in a minute. Look at the country first, then whether the ad is still running, the category, the words you typed and whether you are logged in.

• The country. The help page says to use the country selector to view ads from a specific country. A brand that does not advertise there shows nothing. One that does can run a different ad in each country, as the post on localising an ad for another market covers.
• The ad stopped. The help page says all active ads are visible and promises inactive ones only for ads about social issues, elections or politics. EU ads are archived for a year after their last impression.
• The category. Meta's API reference says a category narrows results to ads in it, and all ads covers every topic, so leave any category setting on all ads.
• The words. A keyword matches ads that include it, or Pages with it in their name, so a word that is in neither returns nothing. Meta does not translate keywords in the API, so write them in the language of the ad.
• Logged out. The help page says ads with age-restricted content, such as alcohol or gambling, hide their creative from people who are underage or not logged into Facebook.
• The API. Its reference says ads that reached no location in the EU return only if they are about social issues, elections or politics. So a tool built on it may miss an ordinary ad that ran only outside the EU.

Meta Ad Library search for Instagram ads

Instagram ads sit in the Meta Ad Library. Meta's help page says it contains all active ads shown across Meta technologies, and the API records for each ad the technologies it appeared on, such as Facebook or Instagram.

The API's platform filter takes Instagram, alone or in a list. On the search page, the Platform menu under Filters narrows the results, and each card lists the platforms the ad runs on. Branded content with a paid partnership label, created on or after 17 August 2023, is searched by Page or Instagram profile, and Facebook or Instagram and a date range are required.

What ads shown in the EU add

An ordinary active ad that does not reach the EU shows the Page that ran it and only the date it started to run. For an ad that delivers an impression in the EU, Meta's help page adds the dates it ran, its total reach, and reach by targeted location split by age and gender.

It also lists the targeting choices made at ad level, including age, gender and location, and whether each was included or excluded. For the EU only, it adds advertiser and payer information. Meta describes these ads, and the year they are stored for, in its post on the Digital Services Act.

Meta's reference for each ad's fields calls the reach figure an estimate, and returns spend and impressions only for ads about social issues, elections or politics.

Doing the search once and keeping it

The library answers the search you type, and you repeat it next month to see what changed. Radar follows a competitor's live ads for you. Name the brand in its search field and Nomi fetches their live ads, each with the days it has been running, then keeps new ones arriving overnight once you follow the brand.

Every card links back to Meta's record of that exact ad. Radar collects from sixteen countries, and a country outside that list is greyed out before you pick it.