The Meta Ad Library lets anyone look at the ads running on Facebook and Instagram, but it’s built for looking, not saving. This guide is for marketers, founders and agencies who want to keep a competitor’s ads: for a swipe file, a pitch, or to see how a brand’s ads change over time. It covers what Meta lets you download, the manual workarounds, and the quick way.
Download or keep only what you have the right to. The ads belong to the brands that made them, and Meta’s terms may not allow downloading other people’s content. Keeping copies for your own research is one thing; running someone else’s ad as yours is another.
Is there a download button in the Meta Ad Library?
Not for ordinary ads. Each ad’s … menu offers only Copy Ad Link, a link back to the ad in the library (checked October 2026).
Meta’s help page says that you “can download Ad Library searches” if you’re logged in to Facebook and accept its terms (About the Meta Ad Library). It doesn’t say where, and we couldn’t find a download for ordinary ads in the library itself. The download Meta clearly offers is the Ad Library report, which covers political and issue ads only.
How do I save one ad by hand?
Right-click the ad’s image and save it, then copy the text and the link yourself. It works, but only one ad at a time.
- Open the ad in the Ad Library. See ad details shows it larger.
- Right-click the image and choose Save image as.
- For a video, right-click it and look for Save video as. Chrome offers it on some videos and not others; if it isn’t there, see how to download a video from the Facebook Ad Library.
- Copy the ad’s text and headline into a document.
- Open the … menu, choose Copy Ad Link, and paste the link beside the text so you can find the ad again.
- Note the Started running on date and, if the card says so, how many versions the brand runs (“4 ads use this creative and text”).
A screenshot is quicker still, and catches the whole card with its dates, but you can’t search or sort screenshots later.
How do I download data on political ads?
Use the Ad Library report. It covers ads about social issues, elections or politics, with spending by advertiser and by place, and has a Download report link.
- Open the Ad Library report and pick a country.
- See the totals since October 2019, or choose a date range under Advertising data by date range.
- Click Download report for the data as a file.
It’s numbers, not the ads themselves. For the ads, search the library with the ad category set to Issues, elections or politics.
Can I download ads with the Ad Library API?
Yes, as data, if you can write a little code. The API covers political and issue ads from anywhere, and ordinary ads only if they were shown in the EU or UK.
Each ad comes back with its text, headline, start and stop dates, the Page that ran it, the platforms, and for European ads, reach and targeting. It doesn’t include the image or video files: you get a snapshot link to view the ad on Meta’s site (Archived Ad fields). You also need to confirm your identity with Meta first. The Meta Ad Library API guide walks through getting access.
How do I download a whole brand’s ads at once?
Parsly is a free Chrome extension that collects every ad a brand runs in the Ad Library and downloads them as a spreadsheet.
- In the Ad Library, search for the brand and pick it from the list of advertisers, so you get only its ads.
- Open Parsly from Chrome’s toolbar. The first time, allow it on facebook.com.
- Click Collect. Parsly scrolls the page like a person would and reads each ad as it loads.
- Look through them in the panel. Parsly marks the likely winners: the ads that have run longest, with the most versions.
- Download the spreadsheet (CSV), or copy the list.
Each row has the ad’s text, headline, call to action, the page it links to, its start and end dates, days running, how many versions, the format and platforms, a link to the ad in the library, and links to its image, video and thumbnail. Open a media link in your browser to see or save that file.
Come back later, collect the same brand again, and Parsly shows what’s changed: new ads, and ads that have stopped.
Which way should I use?
| Way | Free | Whole brand | Images and videos | Text and dates | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Save by hand | Yes | No, one ad at a time | Images, some videos | Copy and paste | High |
| Screenshots | Yes | No | A picture of the card | In the picture only | Medium |
| Ad Library report | Yes | No | No | Political ad spend only | Low |
| Ad Library API | Yes | Yes | No, a snapshot link | Yes, EU and UK ordinary ads only | Code and identity checks |
| Parsly | Yes | Yes | Links to each file | Yes, as a spreadsheet | One click |
What can’t you download?
- Spend and results for ordinary ads. The library doesn’t show them, so no tool can download them from it.
- Ads that have stopped, outside the EU and UK. Meta removes them from the library when they stop running.
- Targeting, except for ads shown in the EU or UK, where Meta lists the advertiser’s age, gender and location choices.
For how to search and filter before you download, see how to use the Meta Ad Library.
Questions people ask
Can I download a video from the Facebook Ad Library?
Not with a button. Chrome's right-click menu sometimes offers Save video as on an ad's video, but not always. Parsly's spreadsheet includes each ad's video link, which you can open and save from your browser.
Is it legal to download ads from the Meta Ad Library?
Looking at and noting down public ads for research is what the library is for. The ads themselves belong to the brands that made them, and Meta's terms may not allow downloading them, so keep copies for your own reference and never re-use someone else's ad as your own.
Does the Ad Library API give me the images and videos?
No. It returns each ad's text, dates, platforms and a snapshot link to view the ad on Meta's site, not the image or video files.
Can I export the Meta Ad Library to CSV?
Not for ordinary ads from the website. The Ad Library report exports political and issue ad spend as a file. For a brand's ordinary ads, use the API (EU and UK ads only) or an extension such as Parsly, which downloads a CSV.
Why do some of a brand's ads disappear before I save them?
Outside the EU and UK, ordinary ads leave the library as soon as they stop running. Collect them while they're live, or look them up in a European country, where Meta keeps them for a year.
Sources
Checked against the real sites on 22 October 2026. Platforms change their buttons often; if something has moved, tell us at [email protected].