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Driftly · Updated 3 November 2026

Is there a white noise app that works offline with no ads?

Yes. Driftly plays its sounds from the iPhone, including white, pink, and brown noise, rain, and a fan, with no ads and no account, so it keeps playing when you have no network. A fan in the room or a hardware machine also works offline. This kind of noise is not a treatment for insomnia.

What to do

Offline matters when the connection is the thing that fails at bedtime. The honest limit is separate: steady noise helps some people mask sudden sounds, and the research on sleep itself is weak.

  1. Get the sounds onto the phone before you need them Install Driftly while you have a connection. After that, the sounds play from the device. Airplane mode is a fair test: start a sound and turn the radio off.
  2. Pick a noise and a timer White is a bright hiss, pink is smoother, brown is a lower rumble. Rain and fan are there for people who want something less abstract. Set the sleep timer if you do not want it running with no end.
  3. Keep it only as loud as it needs to be The point is to cover the drip or the traffic, not to drown the room. If a baby is nearby, do not use maximum volume and do not put the phone in the crib. A 2014 Pediatrics study found infant sound machines at full volume were far too loud at 30 centimeters.
  4. Judge it by the next morning, not by a claim If you hate the sound, turn it off. Masking is a preference. A systematic review of broadband noise for sleep rated the evidence very low quality.

What not to do

  • Do not use Driftly, or any noise app, as care for insomnia or tinnitus. See a clinician or an audiologist for those.
  • Do not leave a phone at full volume next to a baby's head all night.
  • Do not pay for a 'clinical sleep' claim an app cannot back up. Driftly does not make one.

Where Driftly helps

Driftly is the offline, no-ad option we make: the noises and a sleep timer, on the device, without an account. It masks sound. It does not treat a sleep disorder. View Driftly on the App Store

Other ways

A fan or a hardware sound machine

No account, no screen, and it works in a power cut only if it is battery powered. A box fan is the boring version and it is a good one.

An audio file you already own

A downloaded track in the Files or Music app also plays offline. You will not get a timer built for the job unless the player has one.

Questions people ask

Does it keep playing with the screen locked?

It is built to. If another app takes the audio, or Silent mode is blocking sound, it will not. Start the sound, lock the screen, and listen once before you rely on it overnight.

Are there ads if I never buy anything?

No. Driftly has no ads and no in-app purchases.

Will it help me fall asleep?

It might cover noises that wake you, and it might not. Reviews of the research do not support a strong claim. Use it if you like the sound.

Is brown noise better than white for sleep?

Not as a rule. They sound different. Which one masks your room is something you can hear in a minute. Neither is a proven sleep treatment.

Sources

Written by Aivana LLC, New York, USA. Updated 3 November 2026. This is general information, not professional advice. Back to Driftly.