How to Preview a Facebook Ad Before and After Publishing

Ads Manager shows a live preview while you build an ad and lets you reopen it after the ad is published. The preview tools only work on a computer. From there you can check placements side by side, see how Advantage+ creative enhancements might change your creative, share a link with your team, or push the ad to your own phone. Meta stresses that previews are examples, not exact copies of delivery.

How do you preview an ad while creating it?

1. Go to Meta Ads Manager and click + Create.
2. Complete the ad creation steps, including text and media.
3. Find the ad preview section on the right of the ad.
4. Click Share in the preview to see the sharing options available for your objective, format and placements.
5. Click Expand to open advanced preview across placements and Advantage+ creative enhancements.

You need a campaign with at least one ad set before you can preview an ad during creation.

How do you preview an ad that is already published?

1. Go to Meta Ads Manager and click Ads.
2. Select the ad you want to preview.
3. Click Edit from the menu above the main table.
4. Click Advanced preview to see the ad across placements, if needed.
5. Click Share to see all previews and sharing options.

Which preview options can you use?

The options you see depend on the ad’s objective, format and placements:

Option	What Meta says it does
Share previews	Copies a URL for colleagues. For an unpublished ad, the link stays active 30 or 60 days and stops working once the ad publishes. For a published ad, visitors are asked to let Meta show the ad in all selected placements for 24 hours
Preview on device	Sends a notification to your Facebook profile on your phone; Meta says this works only on iOS, not Android or Instagram
See post	Opens the published ad in a new browser tab
View on Facebook	Shows the published ad in your own mobile feed for the next 10 minutes after you refresh; Meta says this is only a preview, not real delivery

How do you share a preview link for a draft ad?

1. Go to Ads Manager and click Share at the top right for your ad.
2. Choose Share a link from the dropdown menu.
3. Turn on the link sharing toggle, which is off by default.
4. Select 30 or 60 days under Days active.
5. Click Copy and send the link to your team.

Meta warns that preview links are not password protected: anyone with a Facebook profile, including people outside your business, can open one. To renew a link, delete the old one and create a new one.

What does a preview not show you?

Meta says previews are only examples, and that rendering and interaction can vary by device, format and other factors. Its flexible media page adds that previews do not include all possible formats and that published ads may display slightly differently. Meta also says sharing variation previews is not available: a shared preview includes only your original creative, plus one potential variation when shared during ad creation.

FAQ

Can I preview an ad on my phone?

Yes, with limits. Preview on device sends a notification to your Facebook profile, but Meta says it is only available on iOS, such as iPhone, and not on Android or Instagram. For a published ad, View on Facebook places the ad in your feed for 10 minutes after you refresh.

Can I preview multi-media ads before publishing?

Not through a shared link. Meta says pre-publish preview links are not supported for multi-media ads, so the ad must be published before you can generate a shareable preview link that includes all its assets. Once it is published, open the ad in Ads Manager and follow the same share steps.

Why can’t I use side-by-side placement preview on some ads?

Meta says the side-by-side placement editing steps do not work on ads made from existing posts, collection ads or ads running in a split test. They also do not work in bulk editing mode, when you edit several ads at once. Some objectives, formats and placements are not compatible with asset customization either.