What is the difference between conditionalMediation and conditionalGet in WebAuthn?

Vincent

Created: October 15, 2024

Updated: April 23, 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.