The U.S. military has banned its members from using TikTok, signaling increasing concern about possible security risks related to the popular video app’s Chinese ownership.

Representatives for the Coast Guard and Air Force said that their members aren’t allowed to use TikTok on any government-issued devices, making them the latest branches of the armed forces to publicly declare the app off-limits.

The announcements follow similar decisions from the Defense Department, Navy, Army and Marines. Those moves were previously reported.

Officials have also urged troops and their dependents to erase the app from personal phones. It is unclear how many government devices have been capable of downloading TikTok.

TikTok collects information about its users, including data that could be used to track the location and movements of individuals, as do many popular apps.


A spokesman for TikTok declined to comment. TikTok has said the Chinese government has never asked for access to any of its user data, and that TikTok wouldn’t share any if asked.

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TikTok exploded onto the scene as the hot new social-media app of 2019 after its parent company poured close to $1 billion into ads aimed at young Americans, who embraced the app’s format for short videos.

Action shots of military hardware are exactly the kind of content that tends to go viral on TikTok—and has at times, including videos that show troops jumping out of helicopters and the acrobatics of jets.

TikTok’s success has also earned it scrutiny: U.S. regulators are weighing whether the app poses a national security threat, given that it is owned by the massive and growing Chinese conglomerate Bytedance Inc.


In November, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) raised concerns about the Army’s use of TikTok for recruiting efforts and urged the Army to assess potential security risks.

The U.S. military’s decision to instruct members to avoid TikTok is notable because generally the branches don’t provide guidance on how to use specific platforms. An exception was in 2016, when the military advised Defense Department personnel not to use Pokémon Go, the game that also tracks the location of users.

“The threats posed by social media are not unique to TikTok (though they may certainly be greater on that platform),” said Maj. Malinda Singleton, an Air Force spokeswoman.

Representatives from the other branches provided similar statements describing the potential risks. The Pentagon, which provides overarching policy, advised that personnel as well as their children should uninstall TikTok from all of their devices, which include personal phones and tablets.


Write to Ben Kesling at benjamin.kesling@wsj.com and Georgia Wells at Georgia.Wells@wsj.com