Facebook Ad Library India: See Ads Running in India
The Facebook Ad Library for India is the same free Meta Ad Library everyone uses: go to facebook.com/ads/library, set the country to India, and you see every ad currently delivering to people in India across Facebook and Instagram. Commercial ads show only while they are active, while political and social-issue ads stay in the Library with extra disclosure.
There is no separate Indian version, and you can usually browse without logging in. What changes is how you set the filters and how you read what you find, especially if you sell in more than one language.
How do you use the Facebook Ad Library for India?
The setup takes under a minute.
- Open facebook.com/ads/library in a browser.
- Set the country to India.
- Set the ad category to All ads, unless you specifically want political ads.
- Type a brand name and pick its Page from the suggestions, or type a keyword and press Enter.
Picking the Page shows every active ad that Page runs in India. Pressing Enter on a keyword searches ad text instead, which is useful for product terms like "kurta set" or "hair oil" but misses ads that never mention your word.
If you are new to the Library itself, our full Meta Ad Library guide explains every part of an ad card.
What does the Ad Library show for India, and what does it hide?
India sits outside the European Union, and that one fact shapes most of what you see.
In the EU, Meta keeps inactive commercial ads visible and adds some reach and targeting detail. For India, commercial ads are visible only while they are running. When a brand pauses an ad, it leaves the Library.
Here is how the main ad types compare for an India search:
| What you want to see | Shown for India? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Active commercial ads | Yes | Every brand, every ad currently running |
| Paused or ended commercial ads | No | They drop out once inactive |
| Start date of an ad | Yes | Each card shows when it started running |
| Spend or impressions for commercial ads | No | Meta does not publish these for normal ads |
| Political and social-issue ads | Yes, kept in the Library | Includes extra disclosure such as who paid and spend ranges |
| Targeting details for commercial ads | No | Limited targeting detail is an EU feature |
The practical result: if you want a record of a competitor's Diwali or sale-season creative, you have to save it while it is live. Wait until January and most of it will be gone.
How do political and social-issue ads work in the Indian Ad Library?
Political ads are the exception to the "active only" rule.
When an advertiser runs ads about elections, politics or social issues in India, those ads are meant to be declared, and they stay in the Library after they stop running. They also carry more disclosure than commercial ads, such as a "paid for by" line and ranges for spend and reach.
To browse them, switch the ad category to Issues, elections or politics with India selected. Meta also publishes aggregate reporting on this category, but the details and layout change, so check what is available when you look rather than relying on old screenshots.
I am keeping this general on purpose. Disclosure rules and thresholds evolve, especially around elections. Our explainer on political ads in the Meta Ad Library covers how the category works across countries.
Can you filter Indian ads by Hindi, Tamil or other languages?
Yes. After you run a search, the Library's filters let you narrow results, and language is one of the options. India is a natural fit for this, because the same brand often runs one concept in English, Hindi and two or three regional languages.
Useful ways to apply it:
- Hindi: see how a national brand adapts its hooks for Hindi-speaking audiences.
- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam: check whether a competitor is investing in South Indian markets or treating them as an afterthought.
- Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati: spot regional pushes, often tied to local festivals.
- English only: see the creative a brand runs for metro audiences.
The language filter works from Meta's detection of the ad's language, so treat it as a strong guide rather than perfect. Hinglish ads, written in Hindi but in Roman script, can land under English or Hindi. Our guide to the Facebook Ad Library language filter goes deeper on how it behaves.
How should Indian D2C brands research competitors with the Ad Library?
Treat the Library as a research tool, not a scrolling feed. A routine that works for D2C teams:
A few India-specific habits make this sharper.
Read run time as the signal. Each ad card shows when it started running. Advertisers keep paying only for ads that work, so an ad running for many weeks is usually a winner. More on this in our post on Facebook ad longevity.
Watch the sale calendar. Indian D2C brands time big pushes around festivals and marketplace sale events. Check the Library in the weeks before and during these, and note which offers come back every year.
Separate the offer from the creative. "Buy 2 get 1", free shipping thresholds, and COD messaging are common in Indian ads. Write down the offer structure on its own, so you can compare offers across rivals without getting distracted by the visuals.
Check creator ads. Many Indian brands run ads through creators' Pages. If a brand looks quiet, search for the creators it works with.
Look at landing pages. Click through from ads to see where a competitor sends traffic: a product page, a collection, a quiz, or WhatsApp. That tells you as much as the creative.
For a broader method that works in any market, see our guide on how to see competitors' Facebook ads.
How do you keep Indian competitor ads before they disappear?
Because India shows only active commercial ads, saving matters more here than in the EU.
The Library has no download button. Your options:
- Screenshots and notes. Free and fine for a handful of static ads. Weak for video.
- A shared document or spreadsheet. Log the brand, start date, hook, offer and language for each ad.
- A downloader extension. Our free extension, the Meta Ad Library Downloader, adds a Download button to each ad in the Library, saves videos in original HD and full carousels, and can pack a whole search into one ZIP with a searchable swipe board and a CSV.
Whatever you use, study competitor ads for ideas and copy the angle, not the asset. Reusing another brand's creative commercially is a different matter, and this is general guidance, not legal advice.
FAQ
How do I see Facebook ads running in India?
Go to facebook.com/ads/library, set the country to India and the category to All ads. Then search a brand name and pick its Page from the suggestions, or search a keyword to find ads that mention it.
Is the Facebook Ad Library free to use in India?
Yes. The Meta Ad Library is free for anyone, and you can usually browse it without a Facebook account. It covers ads on Facebook and Instagram.
Why do Indian brands' old ads disappear from the Ad Library?
India is outside the EU, so commercial ads only appear while they are active. When a brand pauses or ends an ad, it drops out of the Library. Save any ad you want to keep while it is still running.
Does the Ad Library show political ads in India?
Yes. Political and social-issue ads in India stay in the Library even after they stop running. They include extra disclosure, such as who paid for them and ranges for spend.
Can I filter the Ad Library by Hindi or Tamil?
Yes. After searching, use the language filter to narrow results to Hindi, Tamil or another language. It relies on Meta detecting the ad's language, so mixed-language ads like Hinglish may not sort perfectly.
The Klipio extension adds a download button to every ad in the Meta Ad Library: one click per ad, or bulk-save a whole search as a ZIP with a searchable swipe file inside. Free, no sign-up.
Get the free Ad Library downloaderKlipio reads a competitor's live Meta ads, ranks them by how long they have been running — the honest signal that an ad is profitable — and turns the winning angle into on-brand creative for your own brand. 3-day free trial.
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