Meta Content Library and API

UPDATED

SEP 26, 2024

Meta Content Library and Content Library API provide comprehensive access to the full public content archive from Facebook and Instagram. Individuals can apply for access to the tools with the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. Learn more about applying for access

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Available data

Both tools provide near real-time public content from Facebook and Instagram. Meta Content Library also provides access to content from Threads. Details about the content, such as the post owner and the number of reactions, shares and post views are available as well.

FACEBOOK

Accessible data includes posts shared to and information about Pages, groups and events, as well as a subset of public profiles that have a verified badge or 25,000 or more followers.

INSTAGRAM

Accessible data includes posts shared by and information about business and creator accounts, as well as a subset of personal accounts that have been set to public and have a verified badge or 25,000 or more followers.

THREADS

Accessible data includes posts shared by and information about public profiles with 1,000 or more followers.

Content Library

Meta Content Library is a web-based, controlled-access environment. A deeper analysis of the public content can be performed using Content Library API in a clean room environment.

SEARCHING AND FILTERING

Easily search all public posts across Facebook, Instagram and Threads with comprehensive sorting and filtering options. Post results can be filtered by language, view count, media type, content producer and more. Search results can be shown in card view or table view.

MULTIMEDIA

Dynamically search, explore and analyze photos, videos and reels from Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

PRODUCER LISTS

Refine search results with customizable collections of content producers. Producer lists applied to a search query surface public content from specific content owners on Facebook, Instagram or Threads.

TRENDS IN POSTS CREATED

Explore normalized trend graphs showing how often content matching search keywords was posted on Facebook, Instagram or Threads within the chosen date range.

DOWNLOADABLE DATA

Download Facebook and Instagram posts made by widely-known individuals and organizations and export this data into a CSV file for further analysis. (Available for ICPSR-approved applicants.)

DASHBOARDS

Create custom dashboards to quickly display post feeds and trend charts based on selected keywords and producers.

Content Library API

Content Library API allows programmatic queries of the data and is designed for computational researchers familiar with R or Python. Data pulled from the API can be analyzed in a clean room environment.

ENDPOINTS AND DATA FIELDS

Search across over 100 data fields with multiple dedicated endpoints in Content Library API. For Facebook, this includes Pages, posts, groups, events, profiles and comments. For Instagram, this includes accounts, posts and comments.

SEARCH INDEXING AND RESULTS

Return up to 100,000 results per query using powerful search capabilities.

ASYNCHRONOUS SEARCH

Run queries in the background while working on other tasks by using asynchronous search. Query progress is monitored and tracked by the API.

How to gain access

Meta has partnered with the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan to share public data from Meta technologies in a responsible, privacy-preserving way. This partnership is enabled through ICPSR’s industry-leading Social Media Archive (SOMAR) initiative.

INDEPENDENT APPLICATION REVIEW

The Social Media Archive (SOMAR) at ICPSR independently processes and reviews applications for access to Meta Content Library. The application can be accessed through this form.

API INTEGRATION

Content Library API is now hosted within SOMAR’s secure Virtual Data Enclave. Researchers approved by ICPSR will use this secure environment to access and analyze public data from the API.

RESEARCH SERVICES

A global leader in data stewardship, ICPSR offers the social science research community—including researchers who use Meta Content Library—training in data access, curation and methods of analysis.

Eligibility requirements

Affiliation with an academic institution or other non-university organization, institute, or society which operates as a not-for-profit entity and holds scientific or public interest research as a primary purpose or core activity is required to be eligible for access. Individuals from different disciplinary and professional backgrounds are welcome to apply.

Product documentation

Researchers can explore our developer documentation to learn more about the features, search quality and data available in Meta Content Library and Content Library API.

Publishing with Meta Content Library and Content Library API

Researchers may publish and share the results and findings of their research without prior approval from Meta. Meta will not ask to review research manuscripts prior to publication, but we ask that researchers follow Meta’s attribution guidelines and provide notice upon publishing.

Frequently asked questions

Are global applicants eligible for access to Content Library and Content Library API?

We welcome global researchers, but access to or use of our tools and data must comply with all applicable laws, policies, rules and regulations. In addition, the researcher applicant, and any academic university or institution with which the applicant is affiliated, must not be in a jurisdiction that is the target of sanctions imposed by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union or United Nations.

Is payment required to access Content Library and API?

No. There are no fees associated with access or computation.

What if my research agenda changes? Is a new application required?

If any substantive changes were made to a research agenda since having an application approved by ICPSR, a new application must be submitted.

Do global applicants affiliated with institutions not in the United States still need to apply through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)?

Yes. All Content Library and Content Library API applications are processed and reviewed by ICPSR

Do Content Library and Content Library API include data from all countries and geographies?

No. Public content is excluded from certain countries where we are evaluating compliance with applicable legal requirements.