What Sign-Out, Account Deletion, and Project Deletion Actually Remove
Sign-out, account deletion, and project deletion are three different operations, and what one removes does not carry over to the others. Sign-out ends the session on this device, withdraws its sync authorisation and destroys the local cloud-projection copy; it deletes no project records in the local store, touches no media files on disk, and deletes nothing in your private iCloud store. Before asking what was deleted, first identify which operation was actually performed. For where guest and signed-in records belong, see Where Your Project Data Lives Before and After Sign-In.
The same word, “delete,” reaches different data scopes from different entry points. The result of one path should not be applied to the other two.
Sign-out: this device loses access, your records are not deleted
Sign-out first ends current work, then withdraws this device’s sync authorisation and destroys the local cloud-projection copy. No project record in the local store is deleted and no media file on disk is touched; where your projects live in the local store — that sync permission ships switched off — opening the app again after signing out leaves them exactly where they were. Your private iCloud records are outside this action too, and signing in again brings them back.
Sign-out is not “clear the data first, then see whether you can leave.” If sign-out does not finish, the interface asks for a retry instead of clearing half. So none of these three statements describes this path: “sign-out deletes nothing”, “sign-out deletes your cloud data”, and “sign-out wipes the media on this device”. What is destroyed is the local cloud-projection copy; not one project record in the local store is deleted and no video original is touched.
Sign-out ends the session on this device, withdraws its sync authorisation and destroys the local cloud-projection copy. It deletes no project record in the local store, no media file on disk and nothing in your private iCloud store.
Account deletion: only what belongs to your identity
Account deletion is its own path: it handles only the part that belongs to the signed-in Apple identity. If that scope cannot be determined, the operation does not proceed, so what you see may be “this deletion did not finish” rather than a half-finished removal. It says nothing about when another device or the cloud reaches the same state.
After deletion, the records for that identity and the related copies on this device are gone. This does not establish when another device or the cloud reaches the same state.
Account deletion also does not revoke the external Apple sign-in authorisation: that layer is managed on Apple’s side, outside what this page’s deletion does. Deleting account data should therefore not be described as revoking every external authorisation in one step.
Project deletion: remove one project without changing the account session
Project deletion is scoped to the selected project: the records go first, and the files that belonged only to them are cleaned after. The target is the project and the records beneath it; this does not sign the user out or change cloud sign-in state.
Because those are two steps rather than one drop, there is a real state where the project has left the list while the files are still on disk — and the app will not bring the project back to make the two match. A later launch continues only the file work already confirmed for deletion; what you verify is the files actually left on this device.
Project deletion is not a trash-bin operation. There is no current “recently deleted” or undo path. This describes how the deletion is executed on this device, not when other devices or the cloud will reflect the same state.
For what each level of scene, shot, take, or shooting-day deletion carries with it, see “What Deleting a Scene, Shot, Take, or Shooting Day Removes”.
Why media files can stay behind
Deleting a record does not remove every related file at the same moment: it takes the continuity assets that belong only to that record, while handoff files already written to disk stay. What is left on this device is the thing to check.
The boundary of this page
These paths show what this device’s deletion operations do and where each operation stops on failure. They do not prove when other devices or cloud state become consistent, and they do not turn project deletion into a cross-device undo system or account deletion into an external authorization revocation.
Determining what another device sees after deletion requires separate device and synchronization verification. This page stays with the narrower question: what this device’s deletion paths actually remove.
FAQ
Does signing out delete account-cloud records?
No account-data deletion path runs on sign-out. Sign-out ends the session, withdraws this device’s sync authorisation and destroys the local cloud-projection copy; no project record in the local store is deleted and no video original is touched. Nothing in your private iCloud store is a target of this action, and it returns when you sign in again. Deleting your account removes the records for that identity and the related copies on this device — it does not erase your media originals. What stays on disk is yours to handle in the Files app. Uninstalling the app removes the project data and media the app itself stores; copies you already saved in the Files app are outside that removal and stay until you delete them there.
Does account deletion reach beyond your own material?
Account deletion handles only what belongs to the current Apple identity: the records for that identity and the related copies on this device. Photos, videos and handoff files already generated are not deleted by this step — what remains on disk is yours to handle in the Files app.
Does deleting a project also sign the user out?
No. Project deletion is scoped to the project, its records, and its media cleanup. It does not change account sign-in state.
Can a deleted project be restored from a recently deleted area?
There is no trash, recently-deleted or undo path. Whether media files remain is settled by the files actually left on this device; this step is not a recovery feature.
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