Frequently asked questions

Is OpenAdLibrary free?

Yes. You can browse the public ad library and create a free account. The Founders plan unlocks the full library, advanced filters, funnel tracing, creative tools, and higher API quotas.

Where do the ads come from?

We observe public ad placements with our own crawler and capture the real creative. See the Methodology page for the full picture, including the collection sources we record.

Do you click on ads?

No. We never auto-click live third-party ads, because that would be click fraud. We follow the click/tracker URL’s redirects directly to capture the advertiser’s landing page, and clicking is gated to owned/test inventory only.

Why does the same ad show different placement counts?

Ads accrue placements across recurring crawls over time. We group identical creatives into a single card and count how many times each was observed, so the count grows as we keep seeing it.

What are boards?

Boards are swipe files: save and organize ads you want to keep. Boards are private by default, or you can share one with your whole team (ORG visibility).

Can I share an ad with someone who doesn’t have an account?

Yes. Use “Copy share link” on an ad, brand, or board to create a public, read-only link that anyone can open, with no login required.

How do I access the data programmatically?

Create an API key in Settings and call the read-only developer API. See API & developers.