Facebook Community Standards
Policies that outline what is and isn't allowed on the Facebook app.
Instagram Community Guidelines
Policies that outline what is and isn't allowed on the Instagram app.
Meta Advertising Standards
Policies for ad content and business assets.
Other policies
Other policies that apply to Meta technologies.
How Meta improves
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Our approach to the opioid epidemic
How we support communities in the face of the opioid epidemic.
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Our approach to misinformation
How we work with independent fact-checkers, and more, to identify and take action on misinformation.
Our approach to newsworthy content
How we assess content for newsworthiness.
Our approach to Facebook Feed ranking
How we reduce problematic content in News Feed.
Our approach to explaining ranking
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Content Library and Content Library API
Comprehensive access to public data from Facebook and Instagram
Ad Library tools
Comprehensive and searchable database of all ads currently running across Meta technologies
Other research tools and datasets
Additional tools for in-depth research on Meta technologies and programs
Community Standards Enforcement Report
Quarterly report on how well we're doing at enforcing our policies on the Facebook app and Instagram.
Intellectual Property
Report on how well we're helping people protect their intellectual property.
Government Requests for User Data
Report on government request for people's data.
Content Restrictions Based on Local Law
Report on when we restrict content that's reported to us as violating local law.
Internet Disruptions
Report on intentional internet restrictions that limit people's ability to access the internet.
Widely Viewed Content Report
Quarterly report on what people see on Facebook, including the content that receives the widest distribution during the quarter.
Regulatory and Other Transparency Reports
Download current and past regulatory reports for Facebook and Instagram.
Meta Content Library and Content Library API provide comprehensive access to the full public content archive from Facebook and Instagram. Researchers 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
Available Facebook and Instagram data
Both tools provide near real-time public content from Facebook and Instagram. Details about the content, such as the post owner and the number of reactions and shares, are also available. Review the information below for more details on the latest versions of the research tools.
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.
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.
GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
Data is available for most countries and territories but excluded from countries where Meta is still evaluating legal and compliance requirements.
POST VIEW DATA
The post views metric indicates the number of times a post or reel was displayed on screen.
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
Searching all public posts across Facebook and Instagram is easy 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
Photos, videos and reels are available for dynamic search, exploration and analysis.
PRODUCER LISTS
Customizable collections of content producers can be used to refine search results. Producer lists applied to a search query surface public content from specific content owners on Facebook or Instagram.
TRENDS IN POSTS CREATED
A graph shows a normalized trend of how often content matching search keywords was posted on Facebook and Instagram within the chosen date range.
DOWNLOADABLE DATA
Posts made by widely-known individuals and organizations are available for download. Researchers can export this data into a CSV file to enable further analysis. (Available for ICPSR-approved researchers.)
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
With multiple dedicated endpoints, Content Library API can search across over 100 data fields for things like Instagram accounts and posts and Facebook Pages, posts, groups, events, profiles and comments.
SEARCH INDEXING AND RESULTS
Powerful search capabilities can return up to 100,000 results per query.
ASYNCHRONOUS SEARCH
Asynchronous search allows for queries to run in the background while a researcher works on other tasks. 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
Do researchers have to pay to access Content Library and Content Library API?No. There are no fees associated with access or computation.
Are global researchers 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.
Do global researchers 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 researchers have to reapply for access if they change their research topic or proposal?If the researcher has made any substantive changes to their research topic, proposal or research ethics documentation since having their application approved by ICPSR, they must reapply for access via 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.
