diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index cf47f081..01a08c53 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ impl Protocol {
         self.process(&l_tag, Operation::AuthCrypt);
 
         // Check the tag against the counterfactual short tag.
-        if ct_eq(s_tag, &s_tag_p) == 1 {
+        if ct_eq(s_tag, s_tag_p) == 1 {
             // If the tag is verified, then the ciphertext is authentic. Return the slice of the
             // input which contains the plaintext.
             Some(in_out)
@@ -337,13 +337,18 @@ enum Operation {
     Chain = 0x07,
 }
 
-/// A constant-time comparison using CMOV/CSEL instructions. Returns `1` if the two slices are
-/// equal, `0` otherwise.
+/// A constant-time comparison of two `u8` slices using conditional move instructions. Returns `1`
+/// iff the two slices are equal, `0` otherwise.
 #[inline(never)] // don't inline to avoid getting optimized into vartime
-fn ct_eq(a: &[u8], b: &[u8]) -> u8 {
-    debug_assert_eq!(a.len(), b.len(), "both slices should be the same length");
+pub fn ct_eq(a: impl AsRef<[u8]>, b: impl AsRef<[u8]>) -> u8 {
+    // Compare slice lengths in variable time, since there's no other way to do that.
+    if a.as_ref().len() != b.as_ref().len() {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    // Iterate through the value pairs, checking for inequality.
     let mut res = 1;
-    for (x, y) in a.iter().zip(b.iter()) {
+    for (x, y) in a.as_ref().iter().zip(b.as_ref().iter()) {
         x.cmovne(y, 0, &mut res);
     }
     res