If you permanently deleted a ai generated video off of grok can the company still see what it is

1. What xAI / Grok says about deleting content and timelines

xAI’s consumer FAQ explains that users can delete conversations and that enabling “Private Chat” prevents conversations from being saved to the user view and that those conversations will be deleted from xAI systems within a defined window — the FAQ indicates deletion completes within about 30 days under normal circumstances ^[1]. The FAQ also instructs how users can revoke shared links and manage conversation history through account controls, which implies user‑visible records are removable from the product interface ^[1].

2. Why “permanently deleted” at the UI level is not the same as gone everywhere

Independent guides and privacy summaries caution that data retention policies vary and that some anonymized or de‑identified data may remain for research or compliance even after account deletion, with personal identifiers removed where policy requires ^[2]. Analyses of Grok’s deletion wording likewise emphasize retention windows and the possibility that logs or backups persist temporarily or for legal/safety reasons — deletion requests typically complete within about 30 days unless extended by legal or safety needs ^[3].

3. Different Grok products may follow different rules — the video generator example

The landscape of services using the Grok name is fragmented: xAI’s Grok chatbot has specific FAQ guidance on retention and Private Chat ^[1], while a separate Grok Imagine video generator publishes its own privacy policy describing collection and deletion practices for that service ^[4]. That means deleting an AI‑generated video from one Grok interface does not necessarily remove copies or training derivatives stored under a different company or service that operates the video tool unless those policies and data flows explicitly cover that content ^{[1] [4]}.

4. Legal holds, safety reviews, and derived data: where companies commonly retain material

Third‑party reporting and privacy assessments of Grok note regulators’ scrutiny and the common industry practice of preserving logs for investigations or regulatory inquiries; for example, EU authorities have asked questions about cross‑use of data and training, which can extend retention legally or operationally ^[3]. Vendors also commonly retain backups, aggregate statistics, or de‑identified training samples after user deletion for research and compliance, and external guides warn that such anonymized derivatives may remain even after UI‑level deletion ^{[2] [3]}.

5. Bottom line and practical steps for certainty

Based on xAI’s FAQ and independent guides, deleting a video via the normal Grok account controls removes it from the user interface and should trigger the provider’s deletion process ^{[1] [2]}, but that process typically has a window (about 30 days) and exceptions for legal or safety reasons where copies or logs may persist ^[3]. Because different Grok‑branded products maintain separate privacy policies and because anonymized research copies are commonly exempt from immediate purging, the only way to approach certainty is to: (a) identify exactly which Grok product handled the video, (b) read that product’s privacy policy and deletion terms ^[4], and (c) contact support or privacy contacts to request confirmation or express erase requests and ask about backups, derivatives, and any legal holds ^{[1] [2]}. The available reporting does not provide direct evidence proving or disproving an absolute, backend‑level retention outcome for any particular deleted file, so definitive technical assurances beyond the policies cited cannot be asserted here.