Getting started with Background Noises

Where do I open it?

On a computer, open the web player in your browser at bgnoises.com: nothing to install. On a phone or tablet, use the web player or the app for iPhone, iPad or Android (get the apps). Your account and plan are the same everywhere you sign in.

Do I need to sign in?

Not to try it: in the web player and the apps you can start without an account and play the free samples. To keep a plan on more than one device, sign in with Apple, Google, or an email address and password. If you used Background Noises before, sign in the way you did then.

What can I play?

There are four kinds of sound:

• Music: eight stations of instrumental music, Calm, Ambient, Soft Piano, Classical, Acoustic Guitar, Light Jazz, Tropical and Elevator Music, each playing one track after another. What each station sounds like.
• Nature: River, Rain, Fire and Forest. What each one sounds like.
• Noise: Brown Noise, Grey Noise, Pink Noise and White Noise. Steady noise with no tune or beat. What each color sounds like.
• Tones: 10 steady tones from 174 Hz to 963 Hz. The 10 tones.

Every one of them plays on headphones or a speaker. Binaural beats, the journeys and the Beat Builder are paused for now. The sounds page describes each sound.

How long does a sound play?

On the Free plan, every sound plays as a 60-second sample. On Premium, a noise color or a tone plays for up to 12 hours, and a music or nature station keeps going, one track after another, until you pause it. There is no length to pick.

How do I set the sleep timer?

While a sound plays on Premium, open the full-screen player and tap the sleep timer, the moon. Choose 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or 1, 1.5, 2, 4 or 8 hours, and the sound stops by itself then; a pause does not move that time. Off lets it play on, and a new sound starts with the timer off.

How do the music stations work?

A station is a style of instrumental music, such as Soft Piano or Light Jazz. It plays one track after another, so a long session is a run of different pieces in that style rather than one piece on a loop. The tracks have no vocals and no ads. On Premium a station plays for hours without repeating; the sounds page says what each of the eight sounds like.

And the nature sounds?

They play the same way, as a run of long tracks. River, Rain and Fire each hold one even texture: a calm stream, steady rain at a comfortable distance, a small wood fire. Forest is a few small songbirds at a distance, with quiet pauses between calls. If you are looking for the ocean or a storm, Background Noises has neither; what comes closest to the ocean names the nearest choices.

Which plan do I need?

Try everything on Free first: it plays a 60-second sample of everything. Premium, the one paid plan ($4.99 a month or $49.99 a year on the web), plays the eight music and four nature stations, the noise colors and the tones for hours. There are no credits and no packs. If you already pay for Essentials, you keep the price you pay, and your plan now includes everything Premium does. On the web, a new Premium plan starts with a 7-day free trial, and a card is required: unless you cancel before the trial ends, the card is charged when it ends. Plans and prices.

How do I cancel or change a plan?

Cancel anytime in the App Store, in Google Play or on the web. On the web, use Manage billing in the web player, or write to joshua@thirdspaced.com; cancelling takes effect at the end of the period you have paid for. For a plan bought in an app, use your Apple Account or Google Play subscription settings. Deleting the app does not cancel a plan.

How do I listen safely?

Keep the volume low, especially with headphones and for long sessions. Set the volume before a long session, take breaks, and if you feel dizzy or uncomfortable, stop. Background Noises is not a medical device, and its sounds are for general listening.

Where do I get help?

The FAQ answers most questions, the app guide covers the phone features, and joshua@thirdspaced.com reaches a person.