---
title: BaseAudioContext.currentTime
slug: Web/API/BaseAudioContext/currentTime
tags:
  - API
  - AudioContext
  - BaseAudioContext
  - Property
  - Reference
  - Web Audio API
  - currentTime
browser-compat: api.BaseAudioContext.currentTime
---
{{ APIRef("Web Audio API") }}

The `currentTime` read-only property of the {{ domxref("BaseAudioContext") }}
interface returns a double representing an ever-increasing hardware timestamp in seconds that
can be used for scheduling audio playback, visualizing timelines, etc. It starts at 0.

## Syntax

```js
var curTime = baseAudioContext.currentTime;
```

## Example

```js
var AudioContext = window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext;
var audioCtx = new AudioContext();
// Older webkit/blink browsers require a prefix

...

console.log(audioCtx.currentTime);
```

## Reduced time precision

To offer protection against timing attacks and fingerprinting, the precision of
`audioCtx.currentTime` might get rounded depending on browser settings.
In Firefox, the `privacy.reduceTimerPrecision`  preference is enabled by
default and defaults to 20us in Firefox 59; in 60 it will be 2ms.

```js
// reduced time precision (2ms) in Firefox 60
audioCtx.currentTime;
// 23.404
// 24.192
// 25.514
// ...

// reduced time precision with `privacy.resistFingerprinting` enabled
audioCtx.currentTime;
// 49.8
// 50.6
// 51.7
// ...
```

In Firefox, you can also enabled `privacy.resistFingerprinting`, the
precision will be 100ms or the value of
`privacy.resistFingerprinting.reduceTimerPrecision.microseconds`, whichever
is larger.

## Specifications

{{Specifications}}

## Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

## See also

- [Using Web Audio API](/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Audio_API/Using_Web_Audio_API)
