In this article
Key takeaways
- The Meta Ad Library and Google Ads Transparency Center show commercial ads in the Gulf.
- TikTok's official library covers European ads only; for the Gulf use Top Ads in TikTok Creative Center.
- Snapchat, huge in Saudi Arabia, does not publish its Gulf commercial ads: its library covers political ads and EU ads.
- The Meta library drops commercial ads once they stop (LinkedIn is the exception, keeping ads for a year); keeping stopped ads is what specialised tools add.
All libraries in one table
| Platform | Library | Gulf commercial ads? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook and Instagram | Meta Ad Library | Yes, active only | Search by keyword, Page and country |
| Google and YouTube | Ads Transparency Center | Yes | Search by advertiser or website; region and format filters |
| TikTok | Commercial Content Library | No (EEA, Switzerland, UK) | For the Gulf: Top Ads in Creative Center |
| Snapchat | Political Ads Library and EU Ads Gallery | No | Political ads worldwide, commercial ads for the EU |
| LinkedIn Ad Library | Yes | All countries; ads stay a year after their last impression | |
| X (Twitter) | Ads Repository | No (EU) | Under the EU Digital Services Act |
Meta Ad Library (Facebook and Instagram)
The most complete and the most important for the Gulf: every active ad on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, searchable by keyword, Page and country, with platform, media type, status and date filters. Its limits: commercial ads vanish once they stop, and there is no sort by running time. Full guide: Facebook Ad Library; for Instagram specifically: Instagram ad library.
Google Ads Transparency Center
At adstransparency.google.com you search by advertiser name or website and see their ads on Search, YouTube, Display and more, with filters for region (including Saudi Arabia and the UAE), format and date. Useful to learn which keywords and offers a competitor pays for on Google, especially larger stores.
TikTok: the official library and Creative Center
TikTok's official library (the Commercial Content Library) shows ads delivered in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK only, because it was built for European law. You will not find Saudi or UAE ads there.
The Gulf alternative is Top Ads in TikTok Creative Center: a curated set of TikTok's best-performing ads, filterable by region, industry, objective and likes, with a login needed to see everything. Excellent for creative ideas, but a selection rather than every ad.
Snapchat: a big gap in Saudi Arabia
Snapchat is one of the most important platforms in Saudi Arabia, yet its public library covers political and advocacy ads, plus a gallery of commercial ads in the European Union. There is no official library of Snapchat's commercial ads in the Gulf. To follow competitors on Snapchat, follow their accounts directly and look for their ads on other platforms: most advertisers reuse the same video on Instagram.
LinkedIn and X
The LinkedIn Ad Library shows ads that ran on LinkedIn since June 2023 in every country and keeps each ad for a year after its last impression, searchable by advertiser, keyword or country. It is more useful for B2B, services and recruitment than for stores. The X Ads Repository covers ads delivered in the European Union.
The gap no official library fills
Every official library is a transparency tool, not a market research tool. The Meta library, the one that matters most for stores, does not keep Gulf commercial ads after they stop, does not sort them by running time and does not know the store platform behind an ad. That gap is why we built GccFY for Arabic Meta ads in the Gulf: 780,000+ ads, kept after they stop, with the store page and filters for Salla, Zid and WhatsApp.
To compare with other paid tools, read Ad spy tools.
