What is the difference between conditionalMediation and conditionalGet in WebAuthn?
Learn why there is a different naming in the WebAuthn standard (conditionalGet) and Apple's implementation (conditionalMediation) for Client Capabilities.
Vincent
Created: October 15, 2024
Updated: August 13, 2025
What is the difference between conditionalGet and conditionalMediation in WebAuthn Client Capabilities?#
The short answer is that there is no difference. For some reason, Apple decided to not
adhere to the standard give the same
WebAuthn client capability a different name. This
means that the WebAuthn client capability
conditionalMediation (on Safari) is the same as conditionalGet in the WebAuthn
standard (Level 3 Editor's Draft).
- conditionalGet and conditionalMediation describe the same WebAuthn client capability.
- For some reason, Apple decided to take a different wording compared to the WebAuthn standard
- Both are client capabilities within WebAuthn to improve user flows and reduce friction in passkey experiences.
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