Path hits the 10-million-served mark

Private social network Path today announced that it has surpassed the 10 million user mark.

The company’s Twitter update reads, “10 million users and growing! We’re so excited.”

Headquartered in downtown San Francisco, Path enables largely private messaging and sharing among small groups of family and friends in a fun, free-form, intimate environment.

“We like to use the metaphor that Path is your home inside of Facebook city, where Twitter is the news network,” said Dave Morin of his closed-loop network last year.

The company recently rolled out a slew of updates and improvements to make the private network even more personal. As a Path rep said in a recent note, “There is so much more than words that pass between us. A smile or nod or encouraging gesture -– these allow for true connection and understanding.”

Path messages can take the form of text, photos, voice, location, stickers, emoticons, badges, songs, books, or videos.

Path’s founding team has an interesting background. Morin cofounded the company along with Shawn Fanning and Dustin Mierau in 2010. Morin co-created Platform and Connect at Facebook; Fanning cofounded Napster with Sean Parker.

Path has raised a total of $41.2 million in venture capital and has been involved in a couple of legal spats over privacy in the past.

Image credit: Path