An “Automatic Communicator” provides automated communications services between portable electronic devices (such as, for example, cell phones, PDA's, media players, portable computers, etc.) to facilitate information transfer and matching services while minimizing or eliminating the need for human involvement in responding to queries from one electronic device to another. Such communications are enabled by allowing portable electronic devices (“requesting devices”) to send a query to other portable electronic devices (“answering devices”), and have one or more of those answering devices automatically respond to the query without requiring users of the answering devices to become involved in providing that response. In effect, this allows the portable electronic devices of users to act as digital “butlers” or “personal assistants” that respond to queries on behalf of the users of those devices. In various embodiments, privacy concerns are addressed by authenticating authorized requesting devices or limiting information returned in response to queries.