1st I wish there were a Search Topic on this forum. So this may be a repeated question. I followed the info to set Bitwarden as the Default password manager on my iPad, IOS 18.1; however when I need to log into a site or an app, Bitwarden wants me to log-in again, which is annoying since I know I am logged into the app. This problem does not exist on Android tablets. So is there a solution or should I activate Apple password and move to it?
A tip is to lock (not log out) and then you can unlock with biometrics (FaceID). Session timeout action in settings to Lock.
Not a direct answer to your question but you may find this tip useful. I experience zero friction with BW on my iPad and iPhone. 
Welcome, @Ed_Terry to the community!
Top right hand of screen click on the magnifying glass:
Also useful are Bitwarden’s help pages.
As hinted by @DoctorB, the first thing you want is to understand Bitwarden’s distinction between lock and logout. Then, set the timeout to lock after a reasonable duration. Locking allows one to unlock with biometrics or a pin, neither of which are available when logged out.
“Reasonable duration” has no universally good number. Me, I lock my mobile-phone after 1 minute, my work PC after an hour and my home-desktop after a few hours. The goal here is to make unlock as convenient as possible so that you are willing to make the duration shorter.
If you find the settings are configured but not working, try the following:
- Lock and unlock the app. If that does not work…
- Log out and log back into the app. If that does not work…
- Uninstall and reinstall the app. If that does not work…
- Uninstall the app; delete the local storage and then reinstall the app. If that does not work…
- Contact Bitwarden support and/or file a bug report, mentioning what you tried.
Both messages got me going!! I thought the search glass was for the whole site, unrelated to the topic I had selected since it was not in the dropdown area. I will try that from now on.