I'll see that and raise you a "app is free, but all functionality is paid, which you only find out after you have used the app for its intended purpose and now want the results of the work that you did, specifically when attempting to rescue files from your phone, for instance."

I'll also toss in "all functionality is paid on a subscription model that automatically renews unless you manually disable it and you have to buy at least in one year increments"

If I can remove the ads, and unlock pro features with a one time purchase, sure, but if the app is charging me monthly, that's a deal breaker.

That's not the case at all. For ads, perhaps, but in application purchases? Many games (especially free to play games, of which there are many excellent ones) have purchases you can make in the game.

Helldivers 2 is an excellent game, and that has DLC packs and individual items you can purchase in game. So does World of Tanks (which is also free to play).

Even some perfectly normal applications have that tag, because there's a shareware version (maybe with a launch nag "Ad") and the full paid version (which may only cost a few quid), that you can upgrade to from within the free version. It still counts, even if it's just a one time thing.

There are many scummy practices some game/application makers employ using ads or in-app purchases, but many don't, and both types have that sort of label applied.

Honestly, I see that label applied to basically everything these days, so I just ignore it and judge the application based on the nuance of how their monetisation is presented.