Meta Ad Library Scraper - Facebook Ad Spy, No Login

The Meta Ad Library Scraper (a.k.a. Facebook Ad Library Scraper) extracts every active and inactive ad from Meta's public Ad Library at facebook.com/ads/library/ — across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. No login, no API key, no browser — pure HTTP, global coverage.

Search by keyword, audit every ad a competitor's Page is running, or sweep one keyword across many countries — and get back creative URLs (HD/SD video, images, carousels), ad copy, CTAs, landing-page links, advertiser details and, for political/issue and EU ads, spend and impressions.

Scrape Facebook & Instagram ads — no login, no API key

This is a no-login Facebook ad spy tool. It needs no Facebook account, no access token and no developer app — it reads the same public Ad Library page any visitor sees:

• No login / no API key / no token — paste your keywords or Page IDs and run.
• All commercial ads, every country — not limited to political ads or to the EU.
• Facebook + Instagram + Messenger + Audience Network in one run via publisherPlatforms.
• Pure HTTP, no headless browser — fast (~1–3 s per ~30-ad page) and reliable.

Meta Ad Library API alternative — all commercial ads, no approval

Buyers usually arrive after hitting the wall of the official Meta Ad Library API. This actor is the no-approval alternative:

	This Meta Ad Library Scraper	Official Meta Ad Library API
Facebook account	Not required	Required
Identity verification (gov ID)	Not required	Required
Access token	None	Required, and expires
Ad coverage	All commercial ads, all countries	Mainly political/issue ads globally; all ads only for EU/UK
Output	Structured rows, export to CSV/JSON	Raw API JSON
Setup	Paste input, run	Developer app + verification + token

If you want all advertisers' commercial creatives in any country without Meta's identity-verification and expiring-token process, this scraper is the practical path.

Spy on competitor ads & audit any advertiser by Page ID

• Keyword search — find every advertiser running ads for a term (nike, skincare, crypto) in your chosen countries.
• Advertiser audit — pass one or more Facebook Page IDs in advertiser mode to pull every ad a competitor is or was running, historically.
• Branded-content unmasking — when an ad is influencer/branded content, the output surfaces the true advertiser behind the post.
• Track over time — schedule runs to monitor a competitor's active ads, new creatives and landing pages.

Find a Page ID: open the advertiser in the Ad Library and read view_all_page_id=<ID> from the URL.

What ad data you can extract

Every field below is verified end-to-end against the live Ad Library:

• Ad ID (ad_archive_id) + a one-click link to view it on facebook.com/ads/library
• Active / inactive flag and start / end dates (ISO 8601)
• Advertiser Page: page_id, page_name, profile URL + picture, page like count, page categories
• Branded-content advertiser (when applicable) — the true advertiser behind influencer posts
• Creative: HD + SD video URLs, watermarked variants, video thumbnail, full image set (original + resized), carousel cards, extra gallery creatives
• Copy: body_text (caption), title, caption (display URL), link_description
• Call-to-action: cta_text, cta_type (SHOP_NOW, INSTALL_NOW, LEARN_MORE, …)
• Landing page: link_url (the destination the ad sends to)
• Format: display_format (VIDEO, IMAGE, DCO, DPA, …)
• Regulated disclosure (political/issue + EU ads): spend range, currency, impressions_text, reach_estimate, byline ("Paid for by …"), disclaimer_label
• Categories, gated_type, state_media_run_label, contains_digital_created_media

Output example

{
  "ad_archive_id": "1234567890123456",
  "ad_library_url": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1234567890123456",
  "is_active": true,
  "page_id": "15087023444",
  "page_name": "Nike",
  "page_profile_uri": "https://www.facebook.com/nike",
  "publisher_platforms": ["FACEBOOK", "INSTAGRAM"],
  "display_format": "VIDEO",
  "title": "Nike Air Max",
  "body_text": "Just Do It. Shop the new collection.",
  "cta_text": "Shop now",
  "cta_type": "SHOP_NOW",
  "link_url": "https://www.nike.com/air-max",
  "video_hd_url": "https://video.xx.fbcdn.net/...hd.mp4",
  "video_sd_url": "https://video.xx.fbcdn.net/...sd.mp4",
  "images": ["https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/...jpg"],
  "start_date": "2026-05-01",
  "end_date": null,
  "spend": null,
  "impressions_text": null,
  "currency": null
}

spend, impressions_text and reach_estimate are populated only for political/issue ads and EU ads — Meta does not disclose them for ordinary commercial ads.

Download ad creatives — video (HD/SD), image & carousel

Build a swipe file or creative bank straight from the data. Every ad row carries direct creative URLs — HD and SD video, the full image set, and carousel cards — so you can download or archive the actual creatives, not just metadata. Filter with mediaType=video (or image) to pull only the format you want.

Find winning products & ad creatives (ecommerce & dropshipping)

For DTC media buyers and dropshippers, the Ad Library is a winning-product radar:

• Search a product or niche, sort by what's been running longest (start_date + still is_active) — long-running ads usually mean profitable ads.
• Grab the creative (video/image) and the landing page (link_url) to study the offer and funnel.
• Chain link_url into a store-fingerprinting tool such as the Shopify Store Leads Scraper to profile the destination store.

Track political & issue ads: spend, impressions & EU transparency

A defensible moat for researchers, journalists, watchdogs and compliance teams. Set adType to one of Meta's regulated categories — political/issue, employment, housing or credit — and the actor returns the mandated transparency data: spend range, impressions range, reach estimate, the "Paid for by" byline and disclaimer label. Combine with countries for cross-border EU/DSA ad-transparency monitoring.

Filters supported (verified)

Filter	Values
Keyword	any string (nike, allbirds, climate)
Page ID	one or many Facebook Page IDs (advertiser audit)
Country	ISO-2 codes, multi-country, or ALL for global
Active status	active / inactive / all
Ad type	ALL / POLITICAL_AND_ISSUE_ADS / EMPLOYMENT_ADS / HOUSING_ADS / CREDIT_ADS
Media type	all / image / video / meme
Publisher platforms	FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, MESSENGER, AUDIENCE_NETWORK
Content languages	ISO codes

Run modes

Mode	Behavior
search (default)	Keyword search across the chosen countries
advertiser	Pass pageIds to audit every ad a given Page is or was running
multi_country	Same keyword across many countries — output tagged with country

Example inputs

1. Daily competitor spy in 3 markets

{ "mode": "search", "queries": ["nike"], "countries": ["US", "GB", "DE"], "activeStatus": "active", "maxAdsPerQuery": 200 }

2. Full audit of one advertiser

{ "mode": "advertiser", "pageIds": ["15087023444"], "countries": ["US"], "activeStatus": "all", "maxAdsPerQuery": 1000 }

3. Political ad watch in the US

{ "mode": "search", "queries": ["climate", "election"], "countries": ["US"], "adType": "POLITICAL_AND_ISSUE_ADS", "maxAdsPerQuery": 500 }

4. Video-only beauty creative bank

{ "mode": "search", "queries": ["skincare", "makeup"], "countries": ["US", "GB"], "mediaType": "video", "maxAdsPerQuery": 100 }

How it works

Meta's Ad Library is public, but its frontend runs a short anti-bot handshake before serving data:

1. The actor GETs /ads/library/?…. If Meta returns a 403 challenge page, it POSTs the challenge URL once and re-GETs. This is a documented public handshake — no login or credentials.
2. It extracts lsd + a few session tokens from the resulting HTML.
3. Every ad-listing query goes to POST /api/graphql/ with the same fb_api_req_friendly_name=AdLibrarySearchPaginationQuery the Ad Library UI itself uses.
4. Pagination uses Meta's own page_info.end_cursor.

Because everything is plain HTTP, runs are fast and memory-light — no headless browser to crash or slow you down.

Integrations & export — CSV, JSON, Google Sheets, n8n, Make, Zapier

Every run writes to an Apify dataset you can download as CSV, Excel, JSON or JSONL, or pull via the Apify API and the official Python / JavaScript clients. Connect it to Google Sheets, n8n, Make, Zapier or an MCP-compatible AI agent to automate competitor-ad monitoring and creative pipelines.

Pricing (PAY_PER_EVENT)

Event	Price
Actor start	$0.005
Per (keyword × country × filter) combo swept	$0.005
Per ad row extracted	$0.0005

A typical run pulling 200 ads/country across US/GB/DE ≈ $0.32. A full advertiser audit pulling 1,000 ads in one country ≈ $0.51. Pay per ad — no monthly subscription.

FAQ

Do I need a Facebook account or API key?

No. There's no login, no access token and no developer app to register. The actor reads the public Meta Ad Library over plain HTTP, so you just enter keywords or Page IDs and run it.

Is it legal to scrape the Meta Ad Library?

The Ad Library is a public transparency service Meta is required to publish under the EU DSA and national laws. The actor reads only publicly displayed ad data — no login session, no user content, nothing behind authentication. Use the data within applicable laws.

How is this different from the official Meta Ad Library API?

The official API requires a Meta developer account, government-ID verification and an access token that expires, and it mainly archives political/issue ads globally (all ads only for EU/UK). This scraper returns all commercial ads in any country with no account or token.

Can I scrape Instagram ads too?

Yes. It covers Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. Leave publisherPlatforms empty for all, or set it to INSTAGRAM to keep only Instagram placements.

Can I download ad videos and images?

Yes. Each ad row includes direct HD and SD video URLs, the full image set and carousel cards, so you can download or archive the real creatives. Use mediaType=video or image to filter.

Can I get ad spend, impressions and reach?

Yes — for political/issue ads and EU ads, where Meta is required to disclose them. You get spend (range), impressions_text (range), reach_estimate and the "Paid for by" byline. Commercial ads don't expose spend.

How do I audit every ad from one advertiser?

Use advertiser mode and pass the Facebook Page ID(s). Find a Page ID by opening the advertiser in the Ad Library and reading view_all_page_id=<ID> from the URL.

Which countries are supported and how much does it cost?

Any ISO-2 country code, or ALL for global. Pricing is pay-per-event — roughly $0.32 for 200 ads across 3 countries — with no monthly fee.

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Ethics & legality

The Meta Ad Library is a public transparency service Meta publishes under the EU DSA and various national laws. The actor accesses only publicly displayed information, holds no login session, and observes Meta's expected client handshake. It does not access user content, private posts, or any data behind authentication.

License

MIT.