diff --git a/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/io/ParserBuilder.java b/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/io/ParserBuilder.java
index 595fa6c45..faf62f940 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/io/ParserBuilder.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/io/ParserBuilder.java
@@ -40,15 +40,15 @@ public interface ParserBuilder<T, B extends ParserBuilder<T, B>> extends Builder
     B provider(Provider provider);
 
     /**
-     * Uses the specified deserializer to convert JSON Strings (UTF-8 byte arrays) into Java Map objects.  The
+     * Uses the specified reader to convert JSON Strings (UTF-8 byte streams) into Java Map objects.  The
      * resulting Maps are then used to construct respective JWT objects (JWTs, JWKs, etc).
      *
-     * <p>If this method is not called, JJWT will use whatever deserializer it can find at runtime, checking for the
+     * <p>If this method is not called, JJWT will use whatever Reader it can find at runtime, checking for the
      * presence of well-known implementations such as Jackson, Gson, and org.json.  If one of these is not found
      * in the runtime classpath, an exception will be thrown when the {@link #build()} method is called.
      *
-     * @param deserializer the deserializer to use when converting JSON Strings (UTF-8 byte arrays) into Map objects.
+     * @param reader the Reader to use when converting JSON Strings (UTF-8 byte streams) into Map objects.
      * @return the builder for method chaining.
      */
-    B deserializer(Deserializer<Map<String, ?>> deserializer);
+    B jsonReader(Reader<Map<String, ?>> reader);
 }
diff --git a/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/security/JwkSetParserBuilder.java b/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/security/JwkSetParserBuilder.java
index 4254879c5..6709fbb3a 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/security/JwkSetParserBuilder.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/security/JwkSetParserBuilder.java
@@ -23,9 +23,10 @@
  * Example usage:
  * <blockquote><pre>
  * JwkSet jwkSet = Jwks.setParser()
- *         .provider(aJcaProvider)     // optional
- *         .deserializer(deserializer) // optional
- *         .operationPolicy(policy)    // optional
+ *         .provider(aJcaProvider)      // optional
+ *         .deserializer(deserializer)  // optional
+ *         .operationPolicy(policy)     // optional
+ *         .ignoreUnsupported(aBoolean) // optional
  *         .build()
  *         .parse(jwkSetString);</pre></blockquote>
  *
diff --git a/extensions/jackson/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriter.java b/extensions/jackson/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriter.java
index a7e599b9a..038323f90 100644
--- a/extensions/jackson/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriter.java
+++ b/extensions/jackson/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriter.java
@@ -58,10 +58,6 @@ public JacksonWriter(ObjectMapper objectMapper) {
     @Override
     public void write(Writer out, T t) throws IOException {
         Assert.notNull(out, "Writer cannot be null.");
-        writeValue(t, out);
-    }
-
-    protected void writeValue(T t, Writer writer) throws java.io.IOException {
-        this.objectMapper.writeValue(writer, t);
+        this.objectMapper.writeValue(out, t);
     }
 }
diff --git a/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonSerializerTest.groovy b/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonSerializerTest.groovy
index 5db57d09a..0f2594a06 100644
--- a/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonSerializerTest.groovy
+++ b/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonSerializerTest.groovy
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class JacksonSerializerTest {
 
     @Before
     void setUp() {
-         serializer = new JacksonSerializer()
+        serializer = new JacksonSerializer()
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ class JacksonSerializerTest {
 
     @Test
     void testDefaultConstructor() {
-        assertSame JacksonWriter.DEFAULT_OBJECT_MAPPER,  serializer.objectMapper
+        assertSame JacksonWriter.DEFAULT_OBJECT_MAPPER, serializer.objectMapper
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -67,11 +67,10 @@ class JacksonSerializerTest {
 
     @Test
     void testSerializeFailsWithJsonProcessingException() {
-
         def ex = new IOException('foo')
         def serializer = new JacksonSerializer() {
             @Override
-            protected void writeValue(Object o, Writer writer) throws IOException {
+            void write(Writer out, Object o) throws IOException {
                 throw ex
             }
         }
diff --git a/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriterTest.groovy b/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriterTest.groovy
index d852db730..049ea5a04 100644
--- a/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriterTest.groovy
+++ b/extensions/jackson/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/jackson/io/JacksonWriterTest.groovy
@@ -117,12 +117,10 @@ class JacksonWriterTest {
 
     @Test
     void testWriteFailsWithJsonProcessingException() {
-
         def ex = new IOException('foo')
-
         writer = new JacksonWriter() {
             @Override
-            protected void writeValue(Object o, java.io.Writer writer) throws java.io.IOException {
+            void write(java.io.Writer out, Object o) throws java.io.IOException {
                 throw ex
             }
         }
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtBuilder.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtBuilder.java
index a0b261140..1d68c5d77 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtBuilder.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtBuilder.java
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
 import io.jsonwebtoken.JwsHeader;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.JwtBuilder;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.Jwts;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.MapSerializer;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.SerializingMapWriter;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.WritingSerializer;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Bytes;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Functions;
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ public JwtBuilder jsonWriter(Writer<Map<String, ?>> writer) {
     private byte[] serialize(Map<String, ?> map) {
         Nameable nameable = Assert.isInstanceOf(Nameable.class, map, "JWT internal maps implement Nameable.");
         Writer<Map<String, ?>> jsonWriter = Assert.stateNotNull(this.jsonWriter, "JSON Writer cannot be null.");
-        MapSerializer serializer = new MapSerializer(jsonWriter, nameable.getName());
+        WritingSerializer<Map<String, ?>> serializer = new WritingSerializer<>(jsonWriter, nameable.getName());
         ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream(256);
         java.io.Writer writer = new OutputStreamWriter(baos, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
         try {
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtParser.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtParser.java
index bf548f8b6..015a707f6 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtParser.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/DefaultJwtParser.java
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 import io.jsonwebtoken.ProtectedHeader;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.SigningKeyResolver;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.UnsupportedJwtException;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.JwtDeserializer;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.JsonObjectDeserializer;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Bytes;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.RedactedSupplier;
@@ -917,8 +917,8 @@ protected byte[] decode(CharSequence base64UrlEncoded, String name) {
         ByteArrayInputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(bytes);
         java.io.Reader r = new InputStreamReader(is);
         try {
-            JwtDeserializer<Map<String, ?>> jwtd = new JwtDeserializer<>(jsonReader, name);
-            return jwtd.apply(r);
+            JsonObjectDeserializer deserializer = new JsonObjectDeserializer(jsonReader, name);
+            return deserializer.apply(r);
         } finally {
             Objects.nullSafeClose(r);
         }
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/AbstractParserBuilder.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/AbstractParserBuilder.java
index 531022f87..cfb85f0a0 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/AbstractParserBuilder.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/AbstractParserBuilder.java
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io;
 
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Services;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Deserializer;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Parser;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.ParserBuilder;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader;
 
 import java.security.Provider;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractParserBuilder<T, B extends ParserBuilder<T, B>> im
 
     protected Provider provider;
 
-    protected Deserializer<Map<String, ?>> deserializer;
+    protected Reader<Map<String, ?>> jsonReader;
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     protected final B self() {
@@ -41,17 +41,16 @@ public B provider(Provider provider) {
     }
 
     @Override
-    public B deserializer(Deserializer<Map<String, ?>> deserializer) {
-        this.deserializer = deserializer;
+    public B jsonReader(Reader<Map<String, ?>> reader) {
+        this.jsonReader = reader;
         return self();
     }
 
     @Override
     public final Parser<T> build() {
-        if (this.deserializer == null) {
-            // try to find one based on the services available:
+        if (this.jsonReader == null) {
             //noinspection unchecked
-            this.deserializer = Services.loadFirst(Deserializer.class);
+            this.jsonReader = Services.loadFirst(Reader.class);
         }
         return doBuild();
     }
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParser.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParser.java
index d11c18b32..1b390b647 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParser.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParser.java
@@ -17,65 +17,31 @@
 
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Converter;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.DeserializationException;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Deserializer;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Parser;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.lang.Assert;
 
-import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.io.Reader;
+import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.Map;
 
 public class ConvertingParser<T> implements Parser<T> {
 
-    private final Deserializer<?> deserializer;
+    private final Function<java.io.Reader, Map<String, ?>> deserializer;
     private final Converter<T, Object> converter;
-    private final Function<Throwable, RuntimeException> exceptionHandler;
 
-    public ConvertingParser(Deserializer<Map<String, ?>> deserializer, Converter<T, Object> converter,
-                            Function<Throwable, RuntimeException> exceptionHandler) {
-        this.deserializer = Assert.notNull(deserializer, "Deserializer cannot be null.");
-        this.converter = Assert.notNull(converter, "Converter canot be null.");
-        this.exceptionHandler = Assert.notNull(exceptionHandler, "exceptionHandler function cannot be null.");
-    }
-
-    private RuntimeException doThrow(Throwable t) {
-        DeserializationException e = t instanceof DeserializationException ? (DeserializationException) t :
-                new DeserializationException("Unable to deserialize JSON: " + t.getMessage(), t);
-        throw Assert.notNull(this.exceptionHandler.apply(e), "Exception handler cannot return null.");
-    }
-
-    private Map<String, ?> deserialize(String json) {
-        Assert.hasText(json, "JSON string cannot be null or empty.");
-        byte[] data = json.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
-        try {
-            return deserialize(data);
-        } catch (Throwable t) {
-            throw doThrow(t);
-        }
-    }
-
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    private Map<String, ?> deserialize(byte[] data) {
-        Object val = this.deserializer.deserialize(data);
-        if (val == null) {
-            String msg = "Deserialized data resulted in a null value; cannot create Map<String,?>";
-            throw new DeserializationException(msg);
-        }
-        if (!(val instanceof Map)) {
-            String msg = "Deserialized data is not a JSON Object; cannot create Map<String,?>";
-            throw new DeserializationException(msg);
-        }
-        // JSON Specification requires all JSON Objects to have string-only keys.  So instead of
-        // checking that the val.keySet() has all Strings, we blindly cast to a Map<String,?>
-        // since input would rarely, if ever have non-string keys.  Even if it did, the resulting
-        // ClassCastException would be caught by the calling deserialize(String) method above.
-        return (Map<String, ?>) val;
+    public ConvertingParser(Function<java.io.Reader, Map<String, ?>> deserializer, Converter<T, Object> converter) {
+        this.deserializer = Assert.notNull(deserializer, "Deserializer function cannot be null.");
+        this.converter = Assert.notNull(converter, "Converter cannot be null.");
     }
 
     @Override
-
     public final T parse(String input) {
-        Map<String, ?> m = deserialize(input);
+        Assert.hasText(input, "Parse input String cannot be null or empty.");
+        return parse(new StringReader(input));
+    }
+
+    public final T parse(Reader reader) {
+        Map<String, ?> m = this.deserializer.apply(reader);
         return this.converter.applyFrom(m);
     }
 }
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JsonObjectDeserializer.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JsonObjectDeserializer.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..05def5c83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JsonObjectDeserializer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2021 jsonwebtoken.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io;
+
+import io.jsonwebtoken.MalformedJwtException;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.DeserializationException;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.lang.Assert;
+
+import java.util.Map;
+
+/**
+ * Function that wraps a {@link Reader} to add JWT-related error handling.
+ *
+ * @since 0.11.3 (renamed from JwtDeserializer)
+ */
+public class JsonObjectDeserializer implements Function<java.io.Reader, Map<String, ?>> {
+
+    private static final String MALFORMED_ERROR = "Malformed %s JSON: %s";
+    private static final String MALFORMED_COMPLEX_ERROR = "Malformed or excessively complex %s JSON. " +
+            "If experienced in a production environment, this could reflect a potential malicious %s, please " +
+            "investigate the source further. Cause: %s";
+
+    private final Reader<?> reader;
+    private final String name;
+
+    public JsonObjectDeserializer(Reader<?> reader, String name) {
+        this.reader = Assert.notNull(reader, "reader cannot be null.");
+        this.name = Assert.hasText(name, "name cannot be null or empty.");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Map<String, ?> apply(java.io.Reader reader) {
+        Assert.notNull(reader, "Reader argument cannot be null.");
+        Object value;
+        try {
+            value = this.reader.read(reader);
+            if (value == null) {
+                String msg = "Deserialized data resulted in a null value; cannot create Map<String,?>";
+                throw new DeserializationException(msg);
+            }
+            if (!(value instanceof Map)) {
+                String msg = "Deserialized data is not a JSON Object; cannot create Map<String,?>";
+                throw new DeserializationException(msg);
+            }
+            // JSON Specification requires all JSON Objects to have string-only keys.  So instead of
+            // checking that the val.keySet() has all Strings, we blindly cast to a Map<String,?>
+            // since input would rarely, if ever, have non-string keys.
+            //noinspection unchecked
+            return (Map<String, ?>) value;
+        } catch (StackOverflowError e) {
+            String msg = String.format(MALFORMED_COMPLEX_ERROR, this.name, this.name, e.getMessage());
+            throw new DeserializationException(msg, e);
+        } catch (Throwable t) {
+            throw malformed(t);
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected RuntimeException malformed(Throwable t) {
+        String msg = String.format(MALFORMED_ERROR, this.name, t.getMessage());
+        throw new MalformedJwtException(msg, t);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JwtDeserializer.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JwtDeserializer.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ada3e9c47..000000000
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JwtDeserializer.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2021 jsonwebtoken.io
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io;
-
-import io.jsonwebtoken.MalformedJwtException;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.DeserializationException;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.lang.Assert;
-
-/**
- * Function that wraps a {@link Reader} to add JWT-related error handling.
- *
- * @param <T> type of object to deserialize.
- * @since 0.11.3
- */
-public final class JwtDeserializer<T> implements Function<java.io.Reader, T> {
-
-    static final String MALFORMED_ERROR = "Malformed %s JSON: %s";
-    static final String MALFORMED_COMPLEX_ERROR = "Malformed or excessively complex %s JSON. This could reflect a " +
-            "potential malicious JWT, please investigate the JWT source further. Cause: %s";
-
-    private final Reader<T> reader;
-    private final String name;
-
-    public JwtDeserializer(Reader<T> reader, String name) {
-        this.reader = Assert.notNull(reader, "reader cannot be null.");
-        this.name = Assert.hasText(name, "name cannot be null or empty.");
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public T apply(java.io.Reader reader) {
-        Assert.notNull(reader, "Reader argument cannot be null.");
-        try {
-            return this.reader.read(reader);
-        } catch (StackOverflowError e) {
-            String msg = String.format(MALFORMED_COMPLEX_ERROR, this.name, e.getMessage());
-            throw new DeserializationException(msg, e);
-        } catch (Throwable t) {
-            String msg = String.format(MALFORMED_ERROR, this.name, t.getMessage());
-            throw new MalformedJwtException(msg, t);
-        }
-    }
-}
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/MapSerializer.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/WritingSerializer.java
similarity index 78%
rename from impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/MapSerializer.java
rename to impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/WritingSerializer.java
index f0929ce13..34c03948f 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/MapSerializer.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/WritingSerializer.java
@@ -20,22 +20,20 @@
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Writer;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.lang.Assert;
 
-import java.util.Map;
+public class WritingSerializer<T> implements BiConsumer<java.io.Writer, T> {
 
-public class MapSerializer implements BiConsumer<java.io.Writer, Map<String, ?>> {
-
-    private final Writer<Map<String, ?>> DELEGATE;
+    private final Writer<T> DELEGATE;
     private final String name;
 
-    public MapSerializer(Writer<Map<String, ?>> jsonWriter, String name) {
+    public WritingSerializer(Writer<T> jsonWriter, String name) {
         this.DELEGATE = Assert.notNull(jsonWriter, "JSON Writer cannot be null.");
         this.name = Assert.hasText(name, "Name cannot be null or empty.");
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void accept(java.io.Writer writer, Map<String, ?> map) {
+    public void accept(java.io.Writer writer, T object) {
         try {
-            this.DELEGATE.write(writer, map);
+            this.DELEGATE.write(writer, object);
         } catch (Throwable t) {
             String msg = String.format("Cannot serialize %s to JSON. Cause: %s", name, t.getMessage());
             throw new SerializationException(msg, t);
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilder.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilder.java
index e984c0409..25f8cdae3 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilder.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilder.java
@@ -16,24 +16,17 @@
 package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security;
 
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.ConvertingParser;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Parser;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.Jwk;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.JwkParserBuilder;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.security.MalformedKeyException;
 
 public class DefaultJwkParserBuilder extends AbstractJwkParserBuilder<Jwk<?>, JwkParserBuilder>
         implements JwkParserBuilder {
     @Override
     public Parser<Jwk<?>> doBuild() {
-        return new ConvertingParser<>(this.deserializer,
-                new JwkConverter<>(new JwkBuilderSupplier(this.provider, this.operationPolicy)),
-                new Function<Throwable, RuntimeException>() {
-                    @Override
-                    public RuntimeException apply(Throwable t) {
-                        String msg = "Unable to deserialize JWK: " + t.getMessage();
-                        return new MalformedKeyException(msg, t);
-                    }
-                });
+        JwkDeserializer deserializer = new JwkDeserializer(this.jsonReader);
+        JwkBuilderSupplier supplier = new JwkBuilderSupplier(this.provider, this.operationPolicy);
+        JwkConverter<Jwk<?>> converter = new JwkConverter<>(supplier);
+        return new ConvertingParser<>(deserializer, converter);
     }
 }
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder.java
index 6fc354941..4236691e1 100644
--- a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder.java
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder.java
@@ -16,11 +16,9 @@
 package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security;
 
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.ConvertingParser;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Parser;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.JwkSet;
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.JwkSetParserBuilder;
-import io.jsonwebtoken.security.MalformedKeySetException;
 
 public class DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder extends AbstractJwkParserBuilder<JwkSet, JwkSetParserBuilder>
         implements JwkSetParserBuilder {
@@ -35,15 +33,9 @@ public JwkSetParserBuilder ignoreUnsupported(boolean ignore) {
 
     @Override
     public Parser<JwkSet> doBuild() {
+        JwkSetDeserializer deserializer = new JwkSetDeserializer(this.jsonReader);
         JwkBuilderSupplier supplier = new JwkBuilderSupplier(this.provider, this.operationPolicy);
         JwkSetConverter converter = new JwkSetConverter(supplier, this.ignoreUnsupported);
-        return new ConvertingParser<>(this.deserializer, converter,
-                new Function<Throwable, RuntimeException>() {
-                    @Override
-                    public RuntimeException apply(Throwable t) {
-                        String msg = "Unable to deserialize JWK Set: " + t.getMessage();
-                        return new MalformedKeySetException(msg, t);
-                    }
-                });
+        return new ConvertingParser<>(deserializer, converter);
     }
 }
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/JwkDeserializer.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/JwkDeserializer.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b6c998964
--- /dev/null
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/JwkDeserializer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2023 jsonwebtoken.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security;
+
+import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.JsonObjectDeserializer;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.security.MalformedKeyException;
+
+public class JwkDeserializer extends JsonObjectDeserializer {
+
+    public JwkDeserializer(Reader<?> reader) {
+        super(reader, "JWK");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected RuntimeException malformed(Throwable t) {
+        String msg = "Malformed JWK JSON: " + t.getMessage();
+        return new MalformedKeyException(msg);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/JwkSetDeserializer.java b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/JwkSetDeserializer.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5fa11f544
--- /dev/null
+++ b/impl/src/main/java/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/JwkSetDeserializer.java
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2023 jsonwebtoken.io
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security;
+
+import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.JsonObjectDeserializer;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader;
+import io.jsonwebtoken.security.MalformedKeySetException;
+
+public class JwkSetDeserializer extends JsonObjectDeserializer {
+
+    public JwkSetDeserializer(Reader<?> reader) {
+        super(reader, "JWK Set");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected RuntimeException malformed(Throwable t) {
+        String msg = "Malformed JWK Set JSON: " + t.getMessage();
+        throw new MalformedKeySetException(msg, t);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParserTest.groovy b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParserTest.groovy
deleted file mode 100644
index a70307d0b..000000000
--- a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/ConvertingParserTest.groovy
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright © 2023 jsonwebtoken.io
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io
-
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Function
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Functions
-import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security.JwkConverter
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.DeserializationException
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Deserializer
-import org.junit.Test
-
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals
-import static org.junit.Assert.assertSame
-
-class ConvertingParserTest {
-
-    /**
-     * Asserts that if a non-DeserializationException is thrown during deserialization, that it is wrapped in a
-     * DeserializationException
-     */
-    @Test
-    void testDeserializeNonDeserializationException() {
-        def cause = new IllegalArgumentException("test")
-        def deserializer = new Deserializer<Map<String, ?>>() {
-            @Override
-            Map<String, ?> deserialize(byte[] bytes) throws DeserializationException {
-                throw cause
-            }
-        }
-        def parser = new ConvertingParser(deserializer, JwkConverter.ANY,
-                Functions.identity() as Function<Throwable, RuntimeException>)
-
-        try {
-            parser.parse('foo')
-        } catch (DeserializationException expected) {
-            String msg = "Unable to deserialize JSON: test"
-            assertEquals msg, expected.getMessage()
-            assertSame cause, expected.cause
-        }
-    }
-}
diff --git a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JwtDeserializerTest.groovy b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JsonObjectDeserializerTest.groovy
similarity index 86%
rename from impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JwtDeserializerTest.groovy
rename to impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JsonObjectDeserializerTest.groovy
index 0b54a1803..defef0b6a 100644
--- a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JwtDeserializerTest.groovy
+++ b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/io/JsonObjectDeserializerTest.groovy
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import org.junit.Test
 
 import static org.junit.Assert.*
 
-class JwtDeserializerTest {
+class JsonObjectDeserializerTest {
 
     /**
      * It's possible for JSON parsers to throw a StackOverflowError when body is deeply nested. Since it's possible
@@ -41,10 +41,10 @@ class JwtDeserializerTest {
         try {
             // doesn't matter for this test, just has to be non-null:
             def r = new InputStreamReader(new ByteArrayInputStream(Bytes.EMPTY))
-            new JwtDeserializer<>(reader, 'claims').apply(r)
+            new JsonObjectDeserializer(reader, 'claims').apply(r)
             fail()
         } catch (DeserializationException e) {
-            String msg = String.format(JwtDeserializer.MALFORMED_COMPLEX_ERROR, 'claims', 'foo')
+            String msg = String.format(JsonObjectDeserializer.MALFORMED_COMPLEX_ERROR, 'claims', 'claims', 'foo')
             assertEquals msg, e.message
         }
     }
@@ -64,10 +64,10 @@ class JwtDeserializerTest {
         try {
             // doesn't matter for this test, just has to be non-null:
             def r = new InputStreamReader(new ByteArrayInputStream(Bytes.EMPTY))
-            new JwtDeserializer<>(reader, 'claims').apply(r)
+            new JsonObjectDeserializer(reader, 'claims').apply(r)
             fail()
         } catch (MalformedJwtException e) {
-            String msg = String.format(JwtDeserializer.MALFORMED_ERROR, 'claims', 'foo')
+            String msg = String.format(JsonObjectDeserializer.MALFORMED_ERROR, 'claims', 'foo')
             assertEquals msg, e.message
             assertSame ex, e.cause
         }
diff --git a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest.groovy b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest.groovy
index 2097c669f..336c85d32 100644
--- a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest.groovy
+++ b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest.groovy
@@ -18,18 +18,19 @@ package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.io.ConvertingParser
 import io.jsonwebtoken.impl.lang.Services
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.DeserializationException
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Deserializer
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Serializer
 import io.jsonwebtoken.lang.Strings
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.Jwks
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.MalformedKeyException
+import io.jsonwebtoken.security.SecretJwk
 import org.junit.Test
 
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets
 import java.security.Key
 import java.security.Provider
 
-import static org.easymock.EasyMock.createMock
+import static org.easymock.EasyMock.*
 import static org.junit.Assert.*
 
 class DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest {
@@ -63,10 +64,16 @@ class DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest {
     }
 
     @Test
-    void testDeserializer() {
-        def deserializer = createMock(Deserializer)
-        def parser = Jwks.parser().deserializer(deserializer).build() as ConvertingParser
-        assertSame deserializer, parser.deserializer
+    void testJsonReader() {
+        def reader = createMock(Reader) as Reader
+        def m = RFC7516AppendixA3Test.KEK_VALUES // any test key will do
+        expect(reader.read(anyObject(java.io.Reader.class))).andReturn(m)
+        replay reader
+        def jwk = Jwks.parser().jsonReader(reader).build().parse('foo')
+        verify reader
+        assertTrue jwk instanceof SecretJwk
+        assertEquals m.kty, jwk.kty
+        assertEquals m.k, jwk.k.get()
     }
 
     @Test
@@ -138,18 +145,18 @@ class DefaultJwkParserBuilderTest {
 
     @Test
     void testDeserializationFailure() {
-        def deserializer = new Deserializer() {
+        def reader = new Reader() {
             @Override
-            Object deserialize(byte[] bytes) throws DeserializationException {
-                throw new DeserializationException("test")
+            Object read(java.io.Reader reader) throws IOException {
+                throw new DeserializationException('test')
             }
         }
-        def parser = new DefaultJwkParserBuilder().deserializer(deserializer).build()
+        def parser = new DefaultJwkParserBuilder().jsonReader(reader).build()
         try {
             parser.parse('foo')
             fail()
         } catch (MalformedKeyException expected) {
-            String msg = "Unable to deserialize JWK: test"
+            String msg = "Malformed JWK JSON: test"
             assertEquals msg, expected.getMessage()
         }
     }
diff --git a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilderTest.groovy b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilderTest.groovy
index cdc72e582..3e88b680e 100644
--- a/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilderTest.groovy
+++ b/impl/src/test/groovy/io/jsonwebtoken/impl/security/DefaultJwkSetParserBuilderTest.groovy
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
 package io.jsonwebtoken.impl.security
 
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.DeserializationException
-import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Deserializer
 import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Parser
+import io.jsonwebtoken.io.Reader
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.JwkSet
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.Jwks
 import io.jsonwebtoken.security.MalformedKeySetException
@@ -66,18 +66,18 @@ class DefaultJwkSetParserBuilderTest {
      */
     @Test
     void testDeserializeException() {
-        def deserializer = new Deserializer() {
+        def reader = new Reader() {
             @Override
-            Object deserialize(byte[] bytes) throws DeserializationException {
-                throw new DeserializationException("foo")
+            Object read(java.io.Reader reader) throws IOException {
+                throw new DeserializationException('foo')
             }
         }
-        parser = new DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder().deserializer(deserializer).build()
+        parser = new DefaultJwkSetParserBuilder().jsonReader(reader).build()
 
         try {
             parser.parse('foo')
         } catch (MalformedKeySetException expected) {
-            String msg = "Unable to deserialize JWK Set: foo"
+            String msg = "Malformed JWK Set JSON: foo"
             assertEquals msg, expected.message
         }
     }