Facebook’s growth shows no signs of abating—something that CEO Mark Zuckerberg says has meant that in many cases an increasing number of people can view a member’s profile. Therefore, Zuckerberg confirms in an open letter this evening, the social network is getting rid of regional networks—so that millions of people who happen to also live in a user’s area will be less likely to be able to have access to a user’s personal information.

However, Zuckerberg says the company is also putting into place new privacy controls that let users designate all of their content as being viewable to “friends, friends of your friends, or everyone.” None of these changes are new; they were announced back in early July—and have been in testing since then. Zuckerberg says that only in the “next couple of weeks,” however, will all users be prompted to review their privacy settings.

As for the social network’s growth, Facebook says it now has 350 million users, up from the 300 million that it claimed in mid-September and more than double the number it harped at the start of the year. If that pace sounds familiar, it’s because every two months or so Facebook has been announcing similar milestones. 

• Facebook Says It’s Cash-Flow Positive—Ahead Of Schedule
• Facebook Overhauls Privacy Settings (So People Will Actually Use Them)