I’d bet a lot of folks who’ve got pending profiles are from the times before IFTF took over. I try and keep on top of approving changes. Even for the folks who change their profile… frequently.
Unfortunately, there are enough spammers posting phishing links that it shouldn’t be entirely automated.
I think, as in most things, communication is key and I’d just ask that anyone who has a pending profile that hasn’t been reviewed in a timely fashion to please reach out. It’s a quick fix.