Soundscape – Rain, White Noise & Focus Sounds

Soundscape is an ambient sound mixer for focus, relaxation and sleep — eight sounds you can layer and balance however you like, running in your browser sidebar with nothing streamed and nothing tracked.

Why mixing beats a single track

Most ambient sound apps give you a list and let you pick one. But the sound that actually works for you is rarely a single thing — it's rain *plus* a campfire, or brown noise *underneath* lofi. Soundscape gives every sound its own volume slider so you can build the exact texture you want, then adjust it as the day changes.

The eight sounds

• White noise — the classic masking sound, flat across frequencies; good for blocking speech
• Brown noise — deeper and softer than white noise, often preferred for long focus sessions and by people who find white noise harsh
• Rain — steady rainfall, the most popular focus and sleep sound for a reason
• Ocean — rolling waves, slower and more rhythmic than rain
• Campfire — crackling fire, warm and irregular
• Forest birds — light birdsong and outdoor ambience
• Singing bowls — resonant tones for meditation and slow work
• Lofi ambience — mellow instrumental texture without lyrics to distract you

Scenes: one tap to a full mix

Five ready-made combinations, each tuned so the levels sit right together:

• Rainy cabin — rain over a campfire
• Deep work — brown noise under lofi
• Coastal walk — ocean with birds
• Drift off — light rain with singing bowls
• Pure focus — plain white noise, nothing else

Start from a scene and adjust from there — scenes are a starting point, not a locked preset.

Built for long sessions

• Sleep timer — 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes, with a live countdown so you can see how long is left
• Master volume on top of the individual sliders, so you can duck everything at once when someone speaks to you
• Smooth fades when sounds start and stop, instead of an abrupt cut
• Background playback — on Chrome and Edge, the sound keeps going after you close the side panel, so you're not forced to keep a panel open all day
• Space bar pauses and resumes everything

Why a browser extension

If you work at a computer, the sound is for the computer. Browser tabs playing ambient audio get lost, muted accidentally, or reload and stop. A dedicated side panel with proper controls and a sleep timer is simply a better fit than a YouTube tab you have to hunt for.

Nothing is streamed

Every sound file is bundled inside the extension. That means no buffering, no ads before your rain starts, no data usage, and it works completely offline — on a plane, in a basement, on hotel wifi that barely functions. It also means no third party knows what you listen to or when, because no request is ever made.

Who this is for

• Focus and deep work — masking office chatter, keyboard noise, or a noisy household
• Sleep and insomnia — steady sound to fall asleep to, with a timer so it doesn't run all night
• Studying — long sessions where music with lyrics pulls your attention
• Tinnitus relief — many people find brown or white noise makes tinnitus less noticeable
• Anxiety and overstimulation — a predictable sound environment when the real one is too much
• Open-plan offices — the single most common reason people install a noise app

Small details

Light and dark themes. A "now playing" card showing exactly what's in your mix. Each sound tile has its own artwork and an equaliser animation when active, so you can see at a glance what's on. Your mix and volumes are remembered, so tomorrow you just press play.

Private by design

No account, no sign-in, no cloud, no analytics, no ads, no network requests at all. Your mix settings are stored locally in your own browser and go nowhere else. There is no server involved.

Choosing the right sound

For focus and deep work, brown noise and rain are the most reliable. Both mask speech — the single most distracting sound for concentration — without introducing patterns your brain wants to follow. Lofi works for some people and is a distraction for others; if you find yourself noticing the music, drop it under brown noise rather than removing it.

For sleep, keep it simple and steady. Rain alone, or rain with very low singing bowls, works better than a busy mix. Set the sleep timer to 30 or 60 minutes rather than leaving sound running all night.

For anxiety or overstimulation, ocean and campfire tend to work better than pure noise. Their slow, irregular rhythm gives your attention something gentle to rest on rather than a flat wall of sound.

For open-plan offices, white noise plus a second layer is usually the winning combination — the noise handles the masking, the second sound makes it pleasant enough to keep on for hours.

Frequently asked questions

Does this use my data or slow down my browser?

No. Every sound is bundled inside the extension itself, so nothing streams and nothing is downloaded while you listen. It works fully offline.

Will the sound stop when I close the panel?

On Chrome and Edge, no — enable background playback in settings and it continues. On Firefox the sound stops when the panel closes, which is a browser limitation rather than a design choice.

Can I use this with music playing?

Yes. Soundscape doesn't take over your audio, so you can run ambient sound underneath music from another tab or app and balance the two with the master volume.

Is brown noise better than white noise?

Neither is objectively better. White noise is flat and brighter; brown noise emphasises lower frequencies and sounds softer, closer to heavy rain or a distant waterfall. Many people find white noise harsh over long periods and prefer brown — try both, the sliders let you blend them.

Do rain sounds help you sleep?

Many people find steady rain helps them fall asleep by masking sudden noises that would otherwise wake them. Use the sleep timer so it doesn't run all night.

Can I use this for tinnitus?

Sound masking is a common self-management approach for tinnitus, and low-level broadband noise is what's usually used. It isn't treatment — an audiologist is the right person for that — but plenty of people find it makes tinnitus less noticeable.

Does it work offline?

Completely. Every sound is bundled inside the extension, so nothing streams, nothing buffers and no data is used.

Focus sounds: what actually helps concentration

The most effective focus sounds are steady, without lyrics, and without sudden changes — which is why white noise, brown noise and rain sounds dominate this category while music with vocals tends to compete for the same attention you're trying to direct at work.

Layering matters too. A single flat noise can feel clinical over hours; noise with rain or a campfire on top stays pleasant enough to leave running all day, which is ultimately what determines whether it helps.