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How Meta improves
Age-Appropriate Content
Features
Our approach to dangerous organizations and individuals
Our approach to the opioid epidemic
Our approach to elections
Our approach to misinformation
Our approach to newsworthy content
Our approach to Facebook Feed ranking
Our approach to explaining ranking
Accessibility at Meta
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Ad Library Tools
Other research tools and data catalogue
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Taking action
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Oversight Board overview
How to appeal to the Oversight Board
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Creating the Oversight Board
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Meta’s Bi-Annual Updates on the Oversight Board
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Threat disruptions
Security threats
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Other policies
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Age-Appropriate Content
Features
Our approach to dangerous organizations and individuals
Our approach to the opioid epidemic
Our approach to elections
Our approach to misinformation
Our approach to newsworthy content
Our approach to Facebook Feed ranking
Our approach to explaining ranking
Accessibility at Meta
Research tools
Content Library and Content Library API
Ad Library Tools
Other research tools and data catalogue
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Threat disruptions
Security threats
Threat reporting
Reports
Community Standards Enforcement Report
Intellectual Property
Government Requests for User Data
Content Restrictions Based on Local Law
Internet Disruptions
Widely Viewed Content Report
Regulatory and Other Transparency Reports
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Taking action
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Governance innovation
Oversight Board overview
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Meta’s Bi-Annual Updates on the Oversight Board
Tracking the Oversight Board's Impact
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Meta Advertising Standards
Other policies
How Meta improves
Age-Appropriate Content
Features
Our approach to dangerous organizations and individuals
Our approach to the opioid epidemic
Our approach to elections
Our approach to misinformation
Our approach to newsworthy content
Our approach to Facebook Feed ranking
Our approach to explaining ranking
Accessibility at Meta
Research tools
Content Library and Content Library API
Ad Library Tools
Other research tools and data catalogue
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Detecting violations
Taking action
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Governance innovation
Oversight Board overview
How to appeal to the Oversight Board
Oversight Board cases
Oversight Board recommendations
Creating the Oversight Board
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Meta’s Bi-Annual Updates on the Oversight Board
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Threat disruptions
Security threats
Threat reporting
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Community Standards Enforcement Report
Intellectual Property
Government Requests for User Data
Content Restrictions Based on Local Law
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Widely Viewed Content Report
Regulatory and Other Transparency Reports
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Research tools and datasets
Meta Content Library

Meta Content Library and API

UPDATED NOV 10, 2025
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
Apply
Available data
Both tools provide public content from Facebook and Instagram. The web-based tool also provides access to content from Threads. Details about the content, such as the content owner, number of reactions, shares, views and more are available, with some differences based on the platform and content type.
FACEBOOK
Data includes posts to Pages, groups and events as well as posts that appear on public profiles that are either verified or that have 100 or more followers. Public Marketplace listings and fundraisers are also available.
INSTAGRAM
Data includes posts shared by business and creator accounts as well as posts shared by personal accounts that are either verified or that have 100 or more followers. Public fundraisers and Instagram channels are also available.
THREADS
Data includes posts shared by public profiles with 100 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 secure computing platform.
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SEARCHING AND FILTERING
Easily search content across Facebook, Instagram and Threads with comprehensive sorting and filtering options to help you find relevant results.
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MULTIMEDIA
Dynamically explore and analyze photos, videos and reels from Facebook, Instagram and Threads posts. Further enhance your search by finding matches to text in images included on Facebook and Instagram posts.
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PRODUCER LISTS
Refine search results with customizable collections of content producers. Producer lists applied to a search query surface public posts from specific post owners on Facebook, Instagram or Threads.
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TRENDS IN POSTS CREATED
Explore normalized trend graphs showing how often posts matching search keywords were shared on Facebook, Instagram or Threads within the chosen date range.
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DOWNLOADABLE DATA
Download and export Facebook and Instagram posts made by widely-known individuals and organizations. For Facebook, this includes Pages with 15,000 or more followers or likes, and profiles that are either verified or have 25,000 or more followers. For Instagram, this includes accounts that are either verified or that have 25,000 or more followers. This feature is available for ICPSR-approved applicants.
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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 cleanroom environment.
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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, comments, Marketplace listings and fundraisers. For Instagram, this includes accounts, posts, comments, fundraisers and channels.
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SEARCH INDEXING AND RESULTS
Return up to 100,000 results per query using powerful search capabilities.
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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.
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API ACCESS
Choose between 2 secure computing platforms for access to Meta Content Library API: Meta Secure Research Environment and SOMAR Virtual Data Enclave, the Meta-approved third-party platform.
How to apply for access
Applications for access to Meta Content Library are reviewed and processed by ICPSR’s Social Media Archive (SOMAR) initiative. Go to the application portal to get started. Please be sure to review the application guide before you apply.
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 available from most countries/territories, but we are evaluating compliance with applicable legal requirements for a certain limited set of countries.