Hi,
I went through a very similar situation in February 2026 and was eventually able to get my account reinstated, so I wanted to share my experience in case it helps.
To answer your questions first:
In my case, it took 10 days total for my account to be reinstated, but the App Review Board responded just 3 days after I submitted a second appeal that correctly identified the actual root cause. Based on that, waiting more than 30 days does feel unusually long. It’s possible that your current appeal may not be addressing the specific issue Apple is concerned about.
Regarding your case, metadata problems typically result in a standard App Rejection, not an account-level action — so I personally find it unlikely that subtitle keywords alone would trigger a Pending Termination Notice.
Here is the timeline of what happened to me:
Feb 11: I submitted an update for my published app (“App A”).
Feb 14: I received Pending Termination Notices for all my apps. The notice was a generic template, and Apple did not explicitly point out the exact problem. Since I had just submitted an update for App A, I incorrectly assumed that update was the cause. I submitted an appeal specifically for App A, explaining its architecture to show there were no hidden features. I received no response.
Feb 21: Prior to the termination notice, I had opened a regular Developer Support ticket for a different, unreleased app (“App B”), simply asking when its review would start. Support finally replied to that old ticket, stating: “After checking your app record, I can confirm a decision was made to your developer account...” Seeing App B mentioned in the context of an account decision made me suspect that this unreleased app might actually be the target.
I then remembered leaving some experimental web browser features, along with in-development code for subscriptions and video conversion, in its codebase. Because it was a hassle to delete the code entirely, I had commented out the UI. Users couldn’t access it, but the code was still compiled in the binary.
I immediately submitted a second appeal, this time focusing on App B. I proactively reported this leftover code as my hypothesis for the issue, admitted the oversight, and presented a concrete preventative plan.
Feb 24: Just 3 days later, the App Review Board revoked my termination. App B was then rejected under Guideline 2.3.1 (Hidden Features). I removed the code and recently resubmitted it (still waiting for review). My developer account was restored, and my previously removed published apps returned to the App Store.
Based on my experience, if there is a possibility that the issue lies in your binary rather than the metadata, here is what I would suggest:
1 . Inspect all apps under your account (including unreleased ones)
Don’t just focus on the app you recently updated. Inspect the codebase of every app. If there are any apps you haven’t filed an appeal for yet, you might want to submit appeals for them as well.
2 . Proactively self-report if you find anything questionable
If you discover unused code, leftover frameworks, or features with commented-out UIs, proactively self-report it in your appeal. You can clarify that there was no malicious intent (e.g., no UI execution path), explain why the code remained, and outline the exact steps you will take to prevent similar issues going forward.
I recommend doing a deep audit of all your apps. If you already appealed for an app but later discover a more plausible root cause, submitting a new appeal with that specific information may help. I have attached screenshots of my notices for reference.
I hope your situation gets resolved soon.
*App A
*App B
*App B
