I must be missing something but I do not get all this hand-wringing. Don’t like the passkey options from Google or Apple? Fine! Use the hardware authenticator you absolutely already have if you’re the kind of person who has these sorts of objections.
Sure, I already do that, but why shouldn't there be a choice in on-device passkey implementations just like there is for password and HOTP/TOTP authenticators?
Your argument sounds a bit like "Don't like Safari? Just use a different OS then" in the context of allowing browser choice on iOS. There is no technical reason a Passkey provider and OS/platform should be necessarily bundled.
It would encourage competition in both functionality and security, it reduces reliance on a single account your entire digital life, it allows niche products to address special requirements in all kinds of scenarios...
> Your argument sounds a bit like "Don't like Safari? Just use a different OS then" in the context of allowing browser choice on iOS.
Except… you can just use a YubiKey. It’s closer to saying “install Firefox” than “install a different OS”.
> There is no technical reason a Passkey provider and OS/platform should be necessarily bundled.
Sure, fine. This is like V1 of every provider’s implementation. None of this was even available three months ago, I have no doubt these things are coming.
> Except… you can just use a YubiKey. It’s closer to saying “install Firefox” than “install a different OS”.
No, you're literally recommending I use a separate physical device because there is no API to achieve the same functionality that the OS provides via their bundled implementation.
> Sure, fine. This is like V1 of every provider’s implementation. None of this was even available three months ago, I have no doubt these things are coming.
On iOS, Passkeys have been available for more than half a year now. I really hope that Apple will eventually follow suit.
> No, you're literally recommending I use a separate physical device because there is no API to achieve the same functionality that the OS provides via their bundled implementation.
A $50 device that I have no doubt you already own, and that does not require you to change or modify any of your existing computing setup or habits.
If your point truly has merit, you shouldn’t need the hyperbole.
I must be missing something but I do not get all this hand-wringing. Don’t like the passkey options from Google or Apple? Fine! Use the hardware authenticator you absolutely already have if you’re the kind of person who has these sorts of objections.