Optical illusions: Can you read the hidden message in this black and white spotty image? Only 1% of people can

Optical illusions continue to delight internet users, and some of the most popular are ones which ask people to say what they see.

One of the latest ones asks people to read a message hidden in a monochrome image.

It sounds straightforward, but of course it’s not - and apparently only 1% of people get it right the first time they look at it.

It comes from a TikTok user who has become well known for sharing images which confuse and entertain people in equal measure, and trick the mind.

So, can you read the message hidden in the image below?

Read on for everything you need to know about it, including where it came from and what the correct answer is.

Where has the image come from?

While the original source of the image is not clear, TikTok personality pasillusion shared the illusion online.

So far, racked up 160 “likes” and 200 comments - and that number is still growing.

Pasillusion, whose real name is Pete Sciarrino, has 6458 followers and a total of 58.4K “likes” across all of his videos on this account.

His main TikTok account called pasmagic reveals that he is a 19 year old magician and content creator from San Diego, California.

On his main account, he is 4.6m followers and 35.6m “likes”.

Pasillusion is known on the social media platform Tik Tok for confusing and delighting his many viewers on a daily basis with a selection of illusions and magic tricks.

He describes his channel as “daily illusions and mind games”.

What does the video show?

Wearing his signature sunglasses, the magician showed the monochrome image which shows a white background with lots of black spots on it to his viewers.

The spots have been specifically placed to show a message - but it’s not easy to see.

He said: “Only 1% of people can read the hidden message in this image. Can you?”

He then encouraged people to interact with him by leaving a comment on the video, and also share the illusion with a loved one.

“Let me know in the comments and send this to a friend once you figure it out.”

What do Tik Tok users think the answer is?

TikTok users took to the comments section of Pete Sciarrino’s video to share their answers.

Most of them actually got it right, so we won’t share their comments just yet as we don’t want to reveal the answer too soon. There’s no spoilers!

TikTok users did, however, share some top tips for seeing the correct answer, so we’ll share those tips with you in case you are struggling to see the message for yourself.

One person said: “Squint your eyes then you can see.”

Another person suggested “Put your phone far in front of you.”

If you want a hint then think about a common three word phrase that means to conceal yourself from view.

This optical illusion makes clever use of words.

What is the right answer?

The majority of people who commented on the Tik Tok video knew what phrase is hidden in this optical illusion.

The answer is “hide and seek”.

If you haven’t realised, take a look at the image again now you know the answer and we guarantee you will see it.