I'm lost on this - is this better than GPG?
More usable for the average user and more supported by actual sites and services, so yes.
Does this require any 3rd party to work? I remember reading a blog, something about attesting the client, which was some big corpo like Google/Apple/Microsoft... that's not for this, right?
While the defaults are typically to use what the browser or OS has for storage and sync of the passkeys, you can use other things.
Like KeePassXC:
https://keepassxc.org/blog/2024-03-10-2.7.7-released/
As for attestation to how the key is stored securely (like in a hardware key), Apple's implementation doesn't support it for iCloud ones, so any site that tries to require it wouldn't work for millions of people. That pretty much kills it except for managed environments (such as when a company provides a hardware key and wants to make sure that's the only thing that's used).
Meanwhile mobile Firefox doesn't even support YubiKey / FIDO2 for some godforsaken reason.
Whenever I read stuff like this, my mind goes a bit hazy. Because I'm just finding myself asking 'Why and when did the simple mechanic of passwords get this difficult?'
Maybe if password requirements weren't stingingly stupid, companies cared more about actual security and not an obstacle course they've gotta send people through to do one thing. We wouldn't ever know or need to know systems like this.
Passkeys are much simpler to use than passwords, password managers, 2FA etc. if simplicity is your goal, Passkeys are your personal wet dream.
They are really satisfying when they work. I have been impressed by how well they work cross platform in the new bitwarden. It even worked from Android one time with a key made on windows! However, I dread when my mom tells me she needs help with an account and I can't do anything because the key is on her iOS Keychain I don't have access to
What is the difference between a crypto wallet and a passkey?
Is it just that a passkey has less functionality (and therfore better usability)?
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