Facebook Meta Ads Library Scraper

Overview

Facebook Ads Library Scraper extracts public ad records from the Meta / Facebook Ad Library, including advertiser information, ad copy, creative media, links, active dates, and platform placements. Provide search keywords, advertiser Facebook Page URLs, or direct Ad Library search URLs to receive structured datasets ready for analysis and export. Digital marketers, brand strategists, and competitive intelligence teams can monitor competitor campaigns, creative trends, and messaging without needing a Facebook account or Meta API credentials.

Quick start

1. Open Facebook Ads Library Scraper on the Apify Store.
2. Enter one or more keywords in Search keywords (e.g. shopify), or paste advertiser Facebook Page URLs (e.g. https://www.facebook.com/shopify).
3. Set your target Country (default: US, or ALL for global coverage) and adjust Max ads if needed.
4. Click Start to run the scraper.
5. Once complete, view the results in the dataset tab and export as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML.

Minimal input example

{
  "searchQueries": [
    "shopify"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "activeStatus": "all",
  "mediaType": "all",
  "maxAds": 10
}

Data extracted

Each row in the dataset represents a unique Facebook Ad Library ad. Results are flattened for easy analysis in spreadsheets and database tools.

Representative output record

{
  "adArchiveId": "1238141341576372",
  "adLibraryUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1238141341576372",
  "pageId": "20409006880",
  "pageName": "Shopify",
  "pageUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/shopify/",
  "pageProfilePictureUrl": "https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/sample.jpg",
  "pageCategories": [
    "Software",
    "E-commerce"
  ],
  "pageLikeCount": 4547149,
  "isActive": false,
  "startDate": "2026-01-13",
  "endDate": "2026-08-09",
  "platforms": [
    "FACEBOOK",
    "INSTAGRAM",
    "MESSENGER"
  ],
  "bodyText": "When it's time to start your business, it's time for Shopify.",
  "title": "Get going and keep growing",
  "ctaText": "Sign up",
  "ctaType": "SIGN_UP",
  "linkUrl": "https://www.shopify.com/free-trial",
  "linkCaption": "shopify.com",
  "linkDescription": "Start your free trial today.",
  "displayFormat": "IMAGE",
  "imageUrls": [
    "https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/ad_creative_image.jpg"
  ],
  "videoUrls": [],
  "videoPreviewUrls": [],
  "categories": [
    "UNKNOWN"
  ],
  "containsAiMedia": false,
  "impressions": null,
  "spend": null,
  "currency": null,
  "gatedType": "ELIGIBLE",
  "collationCount": 1,
  "cardsCount": 0
}

Dataset field reference

Field	Type	Description
adArchiveId	string	Unique Facebook Ad Library identifier.
adLibraryUrl	string	Direct link to view the ad on Facebook Ad Library.
pageId	string	Facebook Page identifier for the advertiser.
pageName	string	Name of the advertiser Facebook Page.
pageUrl	string	Direct URL of the advertiser Facebook Page.
pageProfilePictureUrl	string	URL of the advertiser Page profile picture.
pageCategories	array	Business categories associated with the advertiser Page.
pageLikeCount	number	Public follower / like count for the advertiser Page.
isActive	boolean	Whether the ad is currently active and running.
startDate	string	First date the ad was observed running (YYYY-MM-DD).
endDate	string	Last date the ad ran (YYYY-MM-DD), or null if currently active.
platforms	array	Meta platforms where the ad ran (FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, MESSENGER, etc.).
bodyText	string	Primary ad copy text.
title	string	Headline or title of the ad creative.
ctaText	string	Visible call-to-action button text (e.g. Shop Now, Sign up).
ctaType	string	Facebook call-to-action identifier (e.g. SHOP_NOW, SIGN_UP).
linkUrl	string	Destination landing page URL linked by the ad.
linkCaption	string	Display caption shown for the destination URL.
linkDescription	string	Accompanying description for the destination link.
displayFormat	string	Ad format reported by Facebook (IMAGE, VIDEO, DCO, CAROUSEL).
imageUrls	array	Direct URLs to ad creative images.
videoUrls	array	Direct URLs to ad videos when available.
videoPreviewUrls	array	Thumbnail preview URLs for ad videos.
categories	array	Special ad categories (e.g. EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, POLITICAL).
containsAiMedia	boolean	Whether Meta flags the ad creative as AI-generated media.
impressions	string	Public impression bracket (available for political/issue ads).
spend	object	Estimated spend bounds (lowerBound, upperBound) for political/issue ads.
currency	string	Currency code for spend estimates when available.
gatedType	string	Content eligibility classification.
collationCount	number	Number of creative variations in the ad collation group.
cardsCount	number	Number of cards for carousel ad creatives.

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Required	Description
searchQueries	array	["shopify"]	No	List of search keywords to query. Each keyword runs a separate search.
pageUrls	array	[]	No	Facebook Page URLs to extract ads from specific advertisers.
adsLibraryUrls	array	[]	No	Facebook Ad Library results URLs copied from browser searches.
country	string	"US"	No	Two-letter ISO country code (e.g. US, GB, DE, FR) or ALL.
activeStatus	string	"all"	No	Filter ads by status: all, active, or inactive.
mediaType	string	"all"	No	Filter ads by media type: all, image_and_meme, or video.
onlyAdsNewerThan	string	""	No	Inclusive start date bound (YYYY-MM-DD or relative such as 30 days).
onlyAdsOlderThan	string	""	No	Inclusive end date bound (YYYY-MM-DD or relative such as 90 days).
maxAds	integer	100	No	Maximum ads to collect per task (safety cap: 1 to 500).

Search modes and options

• Search by keyword: Enter keywords representing products, services, or brand names. The scraper searches the selected country and status.
• Search by advertiser: Enter public Facebook Page URLs (such as https://www.facebook.com/shopify/) to monitor specific competitors.
• Search by direct URL: Paste full URLs copied from the Facebook Ad Library interface. Embedded parameters (query, page ID, country, status, media type) are respected.
• Date filtering: Use onlyAdsNewerThan and onlyAdsOlderThan to bound the ad activity window. Active ads with no end date are evaluated as active through the current date.

Use cases

• Competitor ad monitoring: Track which creatives and headlines competitors run over time, how long campaigns last, and when new offers launch.
• Creative inspiration: Discover high-performing ad concepts, video structures, and call-to-action hooks in specific industries.
• Brand protection: Verify authorized partner representation and detect unauthorized brand usage across ad networks.
• Market research: Compare messaging angles and value propositions across international markets by varying the country filter.

Programmatic usage with Apify API

You can trigger runs and access datasets programmatically using the Apify API in Node.js, Python, or cURL.

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({
  token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN',
});

const run = await client.actor('karamelo/facebook-ads-library-scraper').call({
  searchQueries: ['shopify'],
  country: 'US',
  maxAds: 20,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(`Retrieved ${items.length} ads:`, items);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient('YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN')

run = client.actor('karamelo/facebook-ads-library-scraper').call(run_input={
    'searchQueries': ['shopify'],
    'country': 'US',
    'maxAds': 20,
})

dataset_items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(f"Retrieved {len(dataset_items)} ads")

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/karamelo~facebook-ads-library-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "searchQueries": ["shopify"],
    "country": "US",
    "maxAds": 20
  }'

Integrations

Export your scraped ad data to other tools directly from Apify Console:

• Google Sheets: Sync new ad rows to a Google Spreadsheet on every scheduled run.
• Airtable: Create visual competitor ad galleries with image and video preview links.
• Slack & Discord: Receive webhook alerts when competitor campaigns launch.
• Make / Zapier / n8n: Trigger automated workflows, AI summarization, or database updates when new ad records are pushed.

Limitations and guidelines

• Safety caps: Up to 20 search tasks per run, and up to 500 ads per search task. For larger extractions, divide keywords across multiple runs.
• Public data: Extracts only publicly accessible ads from the Facebook Ad Library transparency portal.
• Spend and impressions: Spend and impression brackets are provided only for ads covering social issues, elections, or politics, as defined by Meta transparency reporting rules. Standard commercial ads do not report spend estimates.
• Disclaimer: Facebook and Meta are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. This Actor is an independent tool accessing public transparency data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta.