AI Video API Retention Policy: Expiration, Deletion, Costs

A customer deletes a generated clip from your dashboard, yet a downloaded copy remains in your storage and a previously shared link still works. An AI video API retention policy defines which data remains, where it lives, when access ends, and how deletion is confirmed. Those are separate questions, not one expiration timestamp.

For developers integrating GenRelay, retention belongs in the application design alongside generation and delivery. This explainer distinguishes application-owned rules from provider obligations; it does not assert a GenRelay retention window, deletion endpoint, or storage allowance. A unified generation interface does not establish identical data handling across every model or processing service.

What does an AI video API retention policy cover?

An AI video API retention policy covers the lifetime and disposal of inputs, outputs, metadata, and copies across the services that handle a generation request.

Retention means keeping data for a defined purpose and period. Deletion means removing specified data from a specified system; its scope matters as much as its timing. An inventory should distinguish uploaded reference images, prompts, generated videos, previews, job records, application logs, and backups. Different purposes can justify different schedules.

Data category	Policy question	Evidence to retain
Reference uploads and prompts	When does processing no longer require them?	Purpose and scheduled removal
Generated videos and previews	How long does the customer need access?	Storage location and expiry
Job and billing metadata	Which fields support reconciliation?	Minimized transaction record
Backups and historical versions	When do residual copies age out?	Backup schedule and exceptions

Treat the GenRelay video API as the generation component in this inventory, not as an implied permanent archive. Confirm the applicable terms for each selected workflow before promising customers a retention period.

How is signed URL expiration different from deletion?

Signed URL expiration ends the validity of a particular access link; it does not demonstrate that the underlying video has been deleted.

A signed URL is a resource address carrying a time-limited authorization signature. The object can still exist after that authorization expires. Conversely, deleting an object can make a link unusable before its stated expiry. An authorization error is therefore not a deletion receipt.

Three clocks deserve separate names: the download authorization deadline, your application's retention deadline, and the provider's documented retention schedule. A short-lived link can point to a long-lived object. Copies already downloaded to another device are outside that link's lifetime.

A content delivery network, or CDN, distributes cached copies near viewers. Its cache rules can add another lifetime. Product language should distinguish “link expired,” “removed from this workspace,” and “deletion confirmed for the listed storage locations” rather than presenting them as equivalent outcomes.

Does deleting a local copy delete the provider's copy?

Deleting an application-owned copy does not instruct a provider to delete its copy or establish what happened to provider logs and backups.

Here, application-owned storage means storage your team controls, including its cloud buckets. Removing a database row may hide an asset while leaving its file intact. Object versioning, which preserves historical object versions, can leave older bytes behind after the current version disappears. Thumbnail services and export folders may hold further copies.

Provider-side deletion requires a documented mechanism or contractual process. Verify its scope, authentication requirements, timing, exceptions, and available confirmation. Never invent a deletion request from a familiar-looking URL pattern. If no programmatic mechanism is documented, ask about the supported request process instead.

Separate “requested,” “pending,” and “confirmed” in your records. A local worker completing its task cannot confirm remote erasure. Likewise, a missing job result does not prove all associated data was destroyed. The asynchronous video API polling explainer provides related context for distinguishing job observation from the lifecycle of downloaded assets.

How can an application express its own retention decision?

An application can express retention as a deterministic decision over its own timestamps, approved deletion requests, and legal-hold state.

The following executable Python example uses the standard library and makes no network calls or filesystem changes. Its seven-day period is an illustrative application-owned policy, not a GenRelay feature or provider promise. A legal hold is a documented obligation to preserve specified records despite ordinary disposal schedules. The example assumes a deletion request has already passed authorization and policy review.

from dataclasses import dataclass, replace
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone


@dataclass(frozen=True)
class Asset:
    created_at: datetime
    retain_until: datetime
    legal_hold: bool = False
    approved_delete: bool = False
    locally_deleted: bool = False


def decision(asset, now):
    for value in (asset.created_at, asset.retain_until, now):
        if value.tzinfo is None or value.utcoffset() is None:
            raise ValueError("Timezone-aware timestamps required")
    if asset.retain_until < asset.created_at:
        raise ValueError("Retention cannot end before creation")
    if now < asset.created_at:
        raise ValueError("Evaluation predates creation")
    if asset.locally_deleted:
        return "already_deleted_locally"
    if asset.legal_hold:
        return "preserve_under_hold"
    if asset.approved_delete or now >= asset.retain_until:
        return "eligible_for_local_deletion"
    return "retain_locally"


start = datetime(2030, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)
asset = Asset(start, start + timedelta(days=7))
assert decision(asset, start) == "retain_locally"
assert decision(asset, asset.retain_until - timedelta(microseconds=1)) == "retain_locally"
assert decision(asset, asset.retain_until) == "eligible_for_local_deletion"
assert decision(replace(asset, approved_delete=True), start) == "eligible_for_local_deletion"
held = replace(asset, legal_hold=True, approved_delete=True)
assert decision(held, start + timedelta(days=8)) == "preserve_under_hold"
assert decision(replace(held, legal_hold=False), start + timedelta(days=8)) == "eligible_for_local_deletion"
assert decision(replace(asset, locally_deleted=True), start) == "already_deleted_locally"
for invalid, now in [
    (asset, start.replace(tzinfo=None)),
    (replace(asset, retain_until=start - timedelta(seconds=1)), start),
    (asset, start - timedelta(seconds=1)),
]:
    try:
        decision(invalid, now)
    except ValueError:
        pass
    else:
        raise AssertionError("Expected timestamp validation failure")
print("Retention decision assertions passed")

“Eligible” is a decision, not a completed deletion. A production worker needs a fresh authorization and hold check coordinated with execution, so a newly applied hold cannot race with removal. It also needs separately tracked outcomes for each storage location. Unknown hold status should require review rather than being silently interpreted as false.

How do privacy obligations and legal holds affect retention?

Privacy obligations generally favor purpose-limited retention, while valid legal obligations can require narrowly scoped preservation.

A privacy request is not automatically permission to destroy every record, and a legal hold is not justification for keeping every customer's videos indefinitely. Establish who approves an exception, which assets it covers, its legal basis, access restrictions, and a review date. Obtain qualified legal advice for the relevant jurisdictions and contracts.

Prompts and videos can contain personal data even when filenames are anonymous. Avoid copying sensitive content into audit logs merely to prove that deletion occurred. A minimized audit record can capture the asset identifier, policy version, decision reason, execution timestamp, and outcome without preserving the media itself.

Backups need explicit treatment: document aging schedules, restricted access, and how deletion records are reapplied after a restore. Customer notices should explain any applicable delayed removal or preservation exceptions accurately. Training use, processing location, and retention are separate contractual questions; a statement about one does not settle the others.

How does retention affect generation and storage costs?

Retention affects future storage and delivery expenses, but deleting a generated video does not undo generation charges already incurred.

As of November 3, 2026, the supplied GenRelay rates for these examples are Grok 1.0 at $0.010 per second, Grok 1.5 at $0.022 per second, and Omni Flash at $0.10 per generation for 720p or $0.15 per generation for 1080p. Check GenRelay pricing for the applicable configuration before budgeting.

At ten billed seconds, the Grok examples cost $0.10 and $0.22 respectively. One thousand billable Omni Flash generations cost $100 at 720p or $150 at 1080p. These are generation calculations, not storage quotes, and they do not imply that every model accepts the same duration.

Storage estimates depend on average retained bytes and time. For illustration, 10,000 application-owned files averaging 25 MB occupy 250 GB using decimal units, before replicas or historical versions. Keeping that volume for a full billing month consumes approximately 250 GB-months; multiply by your storage vendor's applicable rate. Add request, retrieval, and outbound transfer charges separately.

Deleting earlier can reduce future byte storage, although minimum storage periods or early-deletion charges may apply to some storage classes. Regenerating a discarded asset can incur another generation charge and need not reproduce identical content. Retention is therefore a product and privacy decision with cost consequences, not simply a cleanup setting.

What retention questions should developers ask before integration?

Developers should resolve access duration, deletion scope, backup handling, and evidence before offering customer-facing retention commitments.

Can I promise a fixed provider retention period?

Not without current documentation or an applicable agreement supporting that promise. Your application's seven-day policy does not establish a seven-day provider policy.

Does an expired download link prove deletion?

No. It shows that the link no longer authorizes access under its rules. Confirm object deletion separately and account for cached or downloaded copies.

Should billing records disappear with the video?

Not necessarily. Required financial records can have a different retention basis. Minimize their fields and avoid retaining prompts or media without a justified purpose.

Can a deletion request override a legal hold?

Not automatically. Route the conflict to the authorized legal or privacy owner, preserve the scoped material when required, and record the decision without unnecessarily widening retention.

For a developer integration, evaluate the GenRelay API with generation, storage ownership, and deletion responsibilities documented separately. That boundary lets your team offer a retention policy it can explain and verify.