Guide: Get the URL of a post, ad or reel
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/get-the-url-of-a-post-ad-or-reel
Topic: Post cleanup and tasks
Time: about 3 minutes
Who can do it: Anyone on your team
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/tools
Result when done: You can find the right link for any Facebook post, Instagram post, reel or running ad.
Context: Post cleanup needs the link to the post itself. Each surface hides it in a different place, and an ad is the one that catches people out, because the link you want is the one to the post the ad runs, not to the ad in Ads Manager.

Before you start:
1. The link must point at the post, not at a preview, a share dialog or a shortened link.
2. The post must belong to a page your Facebook login manages.
3. A reel and a post use the same box; you do not tell it which is which.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Get a Facebook post link.
Where: Open your Page, find the post, and use the three dots at its top right, then Copy link. From a desktop browser the address bar also holds the post link once you open the post itself.
You should see: A link containing your page and the post, which the box accepts.

Step 2 of 4: Get an Instagram post or reel link.
Where: Open the post or the reel in the Instagram app, then the three dots, then Link, or Copy link. On a computer, open instagram.com, open the post, and copy the address.
You should see: A link ending in a short code, which the box accepts.

Step 3 of 4: Get the link to a running ad.
Where: In Ads Manager, open the ad, then its preview, and choose to see the post on Facebook or Instagram. Copy the link from there. Comments live on the post the ad runs, so that is the link cleanup needs.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-preview.en.webp (Open the comment on Facebook, in the preview, leads to the ad.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-preview-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The post behind the ad, with its comments, which is what you paste into cleanup.

Step 4 of 4: Or skip the link entirely.
Where: In the inbox, the preview icon on any comment opens the post behind it, with a Cleanup button that loads it directly.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the inbox)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-preview.en.webp (The preview: Post opens it, and Clean up all comments on this post skips the link.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-preview-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The post opens in cleanup with its comments already loading.

If something is off:
Problem: The link is refused
Fix: Copy it from the post itself rather than from a share sheet or a shortener, and check the page is one your Facebook login manages.
Problem: I only have the ad in Ads Manager
Fix: Open its preview and go to the post on Facebook or Instagram; that link is the one cleanup takes.
Problem: The post is from before I connected the page
Fix: That is fine. Cleanup fetches comments from the platform, not from your history here.

Common questions:
Question: Do I need a different link for a reel than for a normal post?
Answer: No. A reel and a post go into the same Post or ad URL box, and you do not tell CommentWatchDog which is which.
Question: Is there a way to clean a post without copying its link?
Answer: Yes. In the inbox, the preview icon on any comment opens the post behind it with a Cleanup button, and the post opens in Post cleanup with its comments already loading.
Question: Can I clean up comments on someone else's post?
Answer: No. The post must belong to a Facebook Page or an Instagram account that your Facebook login manages.
Question: Where do the comments on a Facebook ad actually live?
Answer: On the post the ad runs, not on the ad in Ads Manager. That is why Post cleanup needs the link you reach from the ad's preview by choosing to see the post on Facebook or Instagram.

Related guides:
- Load a post, ad or reel by its link: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/load-a-post-ad-or-reel-by-its-link
- Add a page in one click from a cleanup: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/add-a-page-in-one-click-from-a-cleanup
- The posts library: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/the-posts-library

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/post-cleanup/get-the-url-of-a-post-ad-or-reel.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt