facebook/ meta ads library is not showing old ads from some accounts.

[sofie99]

i have encounter strange thing today.
I am running 18 plus ads for one of my client in india.
They sent me some ads to check in ads library.
on 10 th march i open their page in ads library and it was showing ads were started before 2 days(date was before two days).
i opened those ads again in ads library and time step was before two days.
there were almost 30 ads running , all ads has same ad content i checked before 1 week. same ads.
how is that possible.?

 

[Rose Royal]

i have encounter strange thing today.
I am running 18 plus ads for one of my client in india.
They sent me some ads to check in ads library.
on 10 th march i open their page in ads library and it was showing ads were started before 2 days(date was before two days).
i opened those ads again in ads library and time step was before two days.
there were almost 30 ads running , all ads has same ad content i checked before 1 week. same ads.
how is that possible.?

That usually happens when ads are duplicated or relaunched instead of being edited. In Meta Platforms Ads Library, the “start date” can reset even if the content is exactly the same.

 

[NAM AGENCY]

There are 3 main possibilities:
- Duplicate ads to scale (most likely)
→ Copy ads → Create new IDs → Ads Library displays "running from 2 days ago" even though the content is identical
- Use the same Post ID
→ Same content
→ But each ad has a different run time
- Pause and reopen / Ads Library display error
→ The time may be reset or displayed incorrectly

 

[Agency HLV]

Please try recreating the page.

 

[Linhrin1909]

i have encounter strange thing today.
I am running 18 plus ads for one of my client in india.
They sent me some ads to check in ads library.
on 10 th march i open their page in ads library and it was showing ads were started before 2 days(date was before two days).
i opened those ads again in ads library and time step was before two days.
there were almost 30 ads running , all ads has same ad content i checked before 1 week. same ads.
how is that possible.?

This happens because they are duplicating ads, not editing them.

• Each duplicate is treated as a new ad by Meta Platforms
• So Ads Library shows “started 2 days ago”
• Even though the content is exactly the same

Conclusion: they cloned ~30 identical ads, that’s why same content but new start dates.

 

[sofie99]

and wha

This happens because they are duplicating ads, not editing them.

• Each duplicate is treated as a new ad by Meta Platforms
• So Ads Library shows “started 2 days ago”
• Even though the content is exactly the same

Conclusion: they cloned ~30 identical ads, that’s why same content but new start dates.

and what is benefit of that?

 

[yutalersa]

Meta's ads library has a known delay and caching issue , what you're seeing is likely stale data being served from their cache, not the actual current state of the ads. It's been bugged for months especially for IN accounts, don't rely on it for accurate timestamps.

 

[Nikex]

yeah duplicating is usually why, but media buyers also do it on purpose to reset the algo learning phase when an ad starts fatiguing. fresh ad id = fresh delivery even with identical creative. Ads Library just shows whatever Meta has as the new ad record so the old ones basically disappear from view.

 

[tinpro19420]

That usually happens when ads are duplicated or relaunched instead of being edited. In Meta Platforms Ads Library, the “start date” can reset even if the content is exactly the same.

i have encounter strange thing today.
I am running 18 plus ads for one of my client in india.
They sent me some ads to check in ads library.
on 10 th march i open their page in ads library and it was showing ads were started before 2 days(date was before two days).
i opened those ads again in ads library and time step was before two days.
there were almost 30 ads running , all ads has same ad content i checked before 1 week. same ads.
how is that possible.?

Because you edited the ads, the ad library has recorded the edited ads.

 

[DojaCat]

just meta being meta. ads get refreshed behind the backend so “start date” resets. could be duplication or minor tweak. library only shows snapshot, not full history. never trust it as source of truth

 

[evebeatot]

That can happen when ads are duplicated or relaunched instead of updated directly.

 

[Nikolaos]

i have encounter strange thing today.
I am running 18 plus ads for one of my client in india.
They sent me some ads to check in ads library.
on 10 th march i open their page in ads library and it was showing ads were started before 2 days(date was before two days).
i opened those ads again in ads library and time step was before two days.
there were almost 30 ads running , all ads has same ad content i checked before 1 week. same ads.
how is that possible.?

The ads have been duplicated that's why you're experiencing this.

 

[AshleyRosaworld]

i have encounter strange thing today.
I am running 18 plus ads for one of my client in india.
They sent me some ads to check in ads library.
on 10 th march i open their page in ads library and it was showing ads were started before 2 days(date was before two days).
i opened those ads again in ads library and time step was before two days.
there were almost 30 ads running , all ads has same ad content i checked before 1 week. same ads.
how is that possible.?

Most likely they are duplicating or restarting the ads instead of running the exact same ad continuously.
When an advertiser duplicates an ad or republishes it with very small edits, Meta Ads Library can show a newer “started running” date even if the creative looks identical.

Another possibility is dynamic creatives or rotating ad IDs. Many adult advertisers do this to avoid fatigue, moderation issues, or to reset engagement signals.

Pretty common in aggressive niches like 18+ offers.