Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden has announced that TikTok will be banned from government devices. However, ministers and officials in the UK will still be able to use the Chinese-owned app on their personal phones.

"The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices," Dowden said. "The use of other data-extracting apps will be kept under review."

Over recent months, TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over its handling of user data. Several public administrations have raised concerns over the possibility that TikTok-owner ByteDance will be asked to share its data with the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.

The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app from official devices.

"Restricting the use of TikTok on government devices is a prudent and proportionate step following advice from...