The US Army has banned soldiers from using the hugely popular app TikTok, citing security concerns.

The ban follows a similar decision by the US Navy earlier this month to block the Chinese social media app on government-issued mobile devices.

A recent bulletin from the Defense Department described TikTok “as having potential security risks associated with its use”.

The guidance warned recipients to “be wary of applications you download, monitor your phones for unusual and unsolicited texts etc, and delete them immediately and uninstall TikTok to circumvent any exposure of personal information”.

As recently as last month, US Army recruiters were using TikTok to reach out young people. The head of recruitment, Major General Frank Muth, described it as “extremely helpful” for promoting the Army among Generation Z.

Read more: yahoo