Popular social networking site Twitter on Thursday claimed that the number of its active users had passed the 100 million mark.

The new number of active users of Twitter is whopping 82 per cent up from what it claimed at the beginning of this year. It may be noted here that by active users the company means users who log in at least once a month.

The micro-blogging service also confirmed that it has no plans to become a public company.

Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo said he wanted the company to remain independent.

Speaking on the topic, Mr. Costolo said, "We want to be able to remain independent, grow the business the way we want to, and not be beholden to public markets until we feel like we want to be."

Twitter, which allows users to send and receive messages in a maximum of 140 characters, has been showing ads in limited areas since 2010. However, many believe that commercialization sometimes pushes users away from social media.