How to use the white noise generator
- Press Play (or the Space bar). The sound fades in over a second instead of starting abruptly.
- Set the Volume. Start low and raise it only until the sounds you want to cover fade into the background.
- Choose a Sleep timer if you do not want it to play all night. In the last 45 seconds the noise fades out gradually, so the stop does not wake you.
- Move Softness to the right if the hiss feels sharp. It gently rolls off the highest frequencies, the part most people find harsh, while keeping the masking effect in the speech range.
- Switch on Gentle variation if a perfectly constant sound bothers you. The tone and level then drift very slowly, a little like wind through a window.
Your volume, timer, softness and variation settings are remembered in this browser for next time. On a phone, lock the screen rather than closing the browser: on most phones the sound keeps playing and shows up in the lock-screen media controls.
What is white noise?
White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density: every hertz of bandwidth carries the same average power, from the lowest bass to the top of human hearing. The name is borrowed from light, where white light contains all visible colours in roughly equal measure.
Because our hearing works in octaves (each a doubling of frequency), "equal per hertz" is not "equal to the ear". The octave from 4,000 to 8,000 Hz contains forty times as many hertz as the octave from 100 to 200 Hz, so white noise packs most of its energy into the treble. Measured in octave bands it rises by about 3 dB per octave, which is why it sounds like a bright hiss: the static of a detuned radio, a hair dryer, or air escaping from a tyre.
This generator produces true white noise in your browser. It fills two long buffers with independent random samples and plays them together with different loop lengths, so the combined pattern only repeats after more than an hour and a half, and the left and right channels are independent, which gives a wide, enveloping sound on headphones.
White noise compared with other colours
| Sound | Spectrum | Character |
|---|---|---|
| White noise | Flat: equal power per hertz | Bright, hissy, the strongest high frequencies |
| Pink noise | Falls 3 dB per octave (1/f) | Balanced and softer, like steady rain |
| Brown noise | Falls 6 dB per octave (1/f²) | Deep rumble, like a distant waterfall |
| Green noise | Concentrated in the mid frequencies | Gentle, often called nature-like |
Turning up Softness moves white noise part of the way towards pink: the low-pass filter removes the brightest part of the spectrum. If you still find it harsh, the other colours are a click away. Our guide white, pink and brown noise: what's the difference? explains the spectra in more detail.
When people use white noise
- Falling asleep in a noisy place: traffic, neighbours, a snoring partner or a hotel corridor.
- Covering speech: the strong mid and high frequencies make nearby conversation less intelligible, which is why offices and therapy rooms use sound masking.
- Concentrating: some people find a steady hiss helps them ignore an open-plan office or a busy home; others find any sound distracting.
- Babies: many parents use a steady shushing sound. Our white noise for babies page adds shushing and heartbeat sounds, and the guide is white noise safe for babies? covers volume and distance.
Does white noise help you sleep or focus?
The best-supported effect is masking. Your brain reacts to changes in sound more than to its absolute level, so a steady background raises the floor and makes a door slam or a passing car stand out less. That can help you fall asleep and wake less often in a noisy environment.
Beyond masking, the evidence is mixed. Some studies report faster sleep onset with continuous noise, others find no benefit, and a 2021 systematic review of noise as a sleep aid rated the overall quality of evidence as very low. Research on focus is similarly mixed: some people, including some with attention difficulties, report that background noise helps, while others do worse with it. Treat white noise as a comfort tool worth trying, not a treatment. It does not treat insomnia, ADHD or tinnitus; if poor sleep or ringing in the ears persists, talk to a doctor or audiologist.
Safe volume
Masking works at a surprisingly low level. Aim for a volume that is quieter than normal conversation and just loud enough that the disturbing sounds blend in. With earphones or headphones, keep it low, especially for long or overnight listening, and consider a speaker across the room instead. The volume control here is capped, but your device volume adds to it. For babies, keep the speaker well away from the cot. If you are curious about your hearing, try our online hearing test with headphones.
Privacy: the noise is generated on your device by your browser's Web Audio engine. No audio is downloaded or uploaded, and the only data stored is your settings, in this browser's local storage. Explore rain, ocean waves, fan sounds and a mixer on the sleep and relaxation sounds page, or pair a focus session with the online timer's Pomodoro mode.
Frequently asked questions
Will the white noise keep playing when my phone screen turns off?
On most phones, yes. The sound is routed through a media player, so it continues with the screen locked and appears in the lock-screen controls. Keep the browser tab open; closing the tab or the browser stops it. Some battery-saving modes may still pause background audio.
Does the sound loop?
Not audibly. Two long random buffers with different lengths play together, so the combined pattern only repeats after about 95 minutes, and the loop points are cross-faded so there is no click.
Is it safe to sleep with white noise all night?
At a low volume it is generally considered fine for adults. Keep it quieter than conversation, avoid loud overnight listening through earphones, and use the sleep timer if you only need help falling asleep.
Why does white noise sound so harsh?
Because it has equal power per hertz, most of its energy sits in the high frequencies, where our ears are sensitive. Increase Softness, or try pink or brown noise, which put more energy into the low frequencies.
Is white noise better than pink or brown noise for sleep?
There is no clear winner in the research. White noise masks voices and sharp sounds well; pink and brown noise sound softer and many people find them more pleasant for long listening. Try each at a low volume and keep the one you like.
Can white noise help with tinnitus?
Some people find that gentle background sound makes ringing in the ears less noticeable, and sound enrichment is one of the approaches clinicians discuss. It is not a cure, so see a doctor or audiologist about tinnitus, especially if it is new or one-sided.
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