White Noise

What white noise is

White noise carries the same power at every frequency, which is why it sounds like a flat, even hiss — closer to an untuned radio than to rain. That evenness is the point: a sound that is equally loud everywhere in the spectrum leaves nothing for a nearby conversation to poke through, which is why it works for masking.

It is also why some people find it harsh. There is as much energy in the top octave as in the bottom one, and the top octave is where our hearing is most sensitive. If it grates, try pink noise, which takes the hiss down, or brown noise, which is deeper still.

Generated, not downloaded

The sound is made in your browser as you listen, from a few seconds of noise that repeats seamlessly. Nothing is downloaded, nothing is streamed, and there is no loop point to notice — noise has no melody to give away a repeat. It costs no bandwidth after the page has loaded, so it can run for hours on a poor connection.

Using it without regretting it

1. 1

   Start quieter than you think. Masking works at a level just above what you are trying to cover, and loud noise all day is a bad trade. The volume starts at 40% for that reason.

2. 2

   Use the sleep timer if you are going to sleep. It is off by default, and set to 15, 30 or 60 minutes it fades out rather than stopping abruptly.

3. 3

   Leave the tab open. Hiding the tab stops the sound, because a page that keeps playing after you switch away is a page you will curse later.

What this page does not claim

It plays a sound. It does not treat insomnia, tinnitus, attention difficulties or anything else, and there is no evidence offered here that it will help you sleep or concentrate — those are questions for research and for your own experience, not for a tool page. If noise bothers your ears or your head, stop.

For a screen with nothing on it while you work, there is Focus Mode.

White vs Pink vs Brown Noise explains how the three differ and what the research says.