Show Notes
In this episode of The Digital Identity Digest, Heather Flanagan explores how two emerging browser APIs—FedCM and the Digital Credentials API—are reshaping the identity layer of the web. Learn why browsers are shifting from passive intermediaries to active participants as privacy reforms and regulatory pressure accelerate. Discover how these APIs differ in governance, user experience, and architectural philosophy, and why their proximity raises questions about future convergence. In this episode, explore what this evolution means for federated login, verifiable credentials, wallet ecosystems, and the broader digital identity landscape.
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In this episode, Heather examines the gap between technical interoperability and real-world digital identity deployment. Wallets and verifiable credentials may successfully exchange information, but relying parties must navigate different wallets, browsers, operating systems, credential formats, trust models, and failure states. This episode explores why interoperability must include the full customer experience, not just protocol conformance. Heather considers the growing role of intermediaries, APIs, and verification platforms in absorbing complexity, while asking what happens to trust, privacy, correlation, and governance when another layer enters the identity transaction.