White, pink and brown noise online
Tap the round button and the noise starts right away, generated by your browser. It isn't a video or a looped recording: the sound is calculated live, so there are no loop gaps, it never ends and no ad cuts in at three in the morning. You can pick the color (white, pink, brown or green), mix in rain, a fan or womb sounds, and set it to turn off on its own.
How to use it
- Pick a color: white for a strong hiss, pink for something softer, brown for a deep, muffled rumble, green for the middle ground.
- Tap the round button with the volume low and raise it gradually, just until the noise covers the sounds outside.
- If you like, add a second sound (rain, fan or womb) and adjust the mix with the slider that appears.
- Under Turn off after, choose anything from 15 minutes to 8 hours. The sound fades out slowly at the end.
- For sleeping, tap Black screen: the screen goes black and stays on. Double-tap to exit.
Help and explanations
No sign-up, nothing to download, and once the page has loaded it no longer needs the internet. The timer fades the volume out slowly at the end so the silence doesn't wake anyone up, and the black screen turns your phone dark on the nightstand.
White, pink, brown and green noise: the difference
All the colors are random hiss; what changes is how much bass and treble each one has. White has equal energy at every frequency and, because the ear is more sensitive to treble, it sounds like TV static. Pink drops 3 dB per octave and sounds like steady rain. Brown drops 6 dB per octave and sounds like a distant waterfall or a plane in flight. Green has no technical definition: here it's pink noise focused around 500 Hz, like wind in the woods.
Which one to choose is a matter of taste. People who find white noise harsh tend to settle on pink noise or brown noise. To mask conversation or a neighbor's TV, white and pink work better because they have more energy in the speech range.
Noise for babies: low volume and away from the crib
Many families use a shushing sound to calm their baby because it resembles the sound inside the womb. The thing to watch is volume: a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2014 measured infant sleep machines, and some went above 85 dB at 30 cm from the crib. Keep the phone about 2 meters (7 feet) away, never inside the crib, at the lowest volume that still works, and use the timer instead of playing it all night.
A simple check: if you have to raise your voice to talk next to the crib, it's too loud. To get an idea of the level, measure with a sound level meter app where the baby's head would be.
Tips
- On a phone speaker brown noise almost disappears because it can't play bass; with headphones or a speaker it comes through.
- For sleeping, use the phone speaker or a small speaker at low volume. Headphones all night get hot and hurt your ears.
- In a hotel or on a bus, white or pink noise masks hallway chatter and slamming doors.
- If the sound stops when the screen turns off, use Black screen with the phone plugged in.
- For studying, keep it at a volume where you can still hear someone call you.
Frequently asked questions
Is white noise bad for you?
What can be harmful is the volume: loud sound for hours is tiring and can damage hearing, especially through headphones or near a baby. Keep it below the level of a quiet conversation. Tinnitus, ear pain or insomnia that won't go away calls for a doctor; this generator is not a treatment.
Which is best for sleep: white, pink or brown noise?
It depends on the listener. White masks the most noise, but many people find it too harsh; pink is the middle ground; brown is the deepest and most muffled. Try each one for a few minutes at the volume you'll sleep with.
Does the sound keep playing with the screen locked?
The page plays the noise through a media player, which on many Android phones keeps playing with the screen off and shows up in the lock screen controls. On iPhone it depends on the iOS version and the browser. If it stops, use Black screen, which keeps the screen on and black, with the phone charging.
Are there ads in the middle of the sound?
No. The noise is generated on your device and nothing interrupts playback. The page may show ads outside the tool, but they don't play audio or stop the sound.
What are womb sounds?
An imitation of what a baby hears inside the womb: a muffled low rumble with the pulse of blood flow. Here it's made from filtered brown noise and a pulse of 66 beats per minute. Choose Womb under Second sound and slide the mix toward it.
Does white noise help with tinnitus?
Some people use background sound to mask tinnitus in silence, and sound therapy is part of treatments led by ENT doctors and audiologists. On your own, it doesn't replace a medical visit: tinnitus that doesn't go away may have a cause that needs to be checked.