apport falls back to python's webbrowser.py module, if xdg-open is not available, which also utilizes xdg-open.
$ ipython3 import Python 3.6.3 (default, Oct 3 2017, 21:45:48) Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. IPython 5.1.0 -- An enhanced Interactive Python. ? -> Introduction and overview of IPython's features. %quickref -> Quick reference. help -> Python's own help system. object? -> Details about 'object', use 'object??' for extra details. In [1]: import webbrowser In [2]: webbrowser.open('http://www.ubuntu.com') Out[2]: True In [3]: This tool has been deprecated, use 'gio open' instead. See 'gio help open' for more info. ** Also affects: python3.6 (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Changed in: python3.6 (Ubuntu) Status: New => Triaged ** Changed in: python3.6 (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided => Low -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop Bugs, which is subscribed to gvfs in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1721948 Title: gvfs-open/xdg-open shows message about 'gio open' which confuses user To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/apport/+bug/1721948/+subscriptions -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs