اعدادات الخصوصية بتقفل المشاركة.

بتقفل is the Egyptian Arabic present-tense form of قفل, which means to close, shut, or lock.

In this sentence, it literally means something like closes/locks. In tech or app language, that often gets translated more naturally as:

• turns off
• blocks
• disables

So بتقفل المشاركة is literally closes the sharing, but idiomatically it means disables sharing or prevents sharing.

This is a very common Arabic pattern.

إعدادات is a non-human plural, and non-human plurals are often treated grammatically as feminine singular in Arabic.

So even though settings is plural in meaning, the verb agrees with it as feminine singular:

• إعدادات الخصوصية بتقفل...
• literally: privacy settings, it-feminine closes...

This is normal and expected, not a mistake.

Because this is an idafa structure, also called a construct phrase:

• إعدادات الخصوصية
• literally: settings of the privacy
• natural English: the privacy settings

In Arabic, the first noun in an idafa usually does not take ال. The whole phrase becomes definite because the second noun is definite:

• الخصوصية = the privacy
• so إعدادات الخصوصية = the privacy settings

So even without ال on إعدادات, the full phrase is definite.

Because it refers to a specific known thing: sharing as a feature, option, or action.

In Arabic, verbal nouns like مشاركة can take ال when they mean:

• a specific activity
• a known function
• a general category being discussed

So المشاركة here is like:

• the sharing
• the sharing feature
• sharing in the app/interface sense

English often drops the in this kind of sentence, but Arabic commonly keeps it.

It is best thought of as a mixed everyday register, which is very common.

• إعدادات الخصوصية sounds formal/shared and works in both Standard Arabic and colloquial contexts.
• بتقفل is clearly colloquial Egyptian because of the بـ present marker.

A more Standard Arabic version might be:

• إعدادات الخصوصية تُغلق المشاركة
• or more naturally in many contexts: إعدادات الخصوصية تمنع المشاركة

But in real life, especially in speech, UI language, and informal explanation, this kind of mix is very normal.

In Egyptian Arabic, بـ usually marks the present/habitual tense.

So:

• تقفل = closes / close
• بتقفل = closes / is closing / does close

In context, it tells you this is a present-state statement:

• Privacy settings disable sharing
• Privacy settings block sharing

This بـ is one of the most common features of Egyptian Arabic verbs.

The order here is:

• إعدادات الخصوصية = subject
• بتقفل = verb
• المشاركة = object

So it is basically:

• Privacy settings
  • disable
    • sharing

This subject-first order is very common in Egyptian Arabic.

A very literal gloss would be:

• Privacy settings close the sharing

Then you smooth that out in English as Privacy settings disable sharing.

A useful pronunciation guide is:

iʿdādāt il-khoṣūṣeyya bitʔafal il-moshāraka

A few notes:

• ق in Egyptian Arabic is often pronounced as a glottal stop ʔ
• so بتقفل sounds like bitʔafal
• الـ often sounds like il- or el- in Egyptian speech

Exact vowels vary a bit by speaker, but this will get you close.

Yes. In careful Standard Arabic spelling, it should be:

• إعدادات

But in everyday writing, especially online, in apps, or informal text, people often leave out the hamza and write:

• اعدادات

So:

• إعدادات = more correct/careful spelling
• اعدادات = very common informal spelling

A learner should recognize both as the same word.

Yes. مشاركة can also mean participation or taking part, depending on context.

For example:

• in a meeting/class context, it may mean participation
• in a social media or phone setting, it usually means sharing

So in this sentence, the surrounding context is what tells you the intended meaning is sharing, not participation.