Look for these signals that bit manipulation might help:
The problem mentions binary, bits, or powers of 2.
You need to represent subsets of a small set ().
You need to toggle, check, or modify individual flags or states.
The problem asks for space and involves finding unique elements or duplicates.
You need extremely fast operations on small sets (bitmask DP).
If you see any of these patterns, consider whether bitwise operators could simplify your solution.