Starting a message thread from search

The NearbySpy marketplace is built so that finding an Investigator and contacting one are the same motion. From a search result or a public Investigator profile, you can open a message thread directly — no email required, no phone tag, no waiting for a callback. This article describes how that flow works for Clients and what happens on the Investigator side.

From search to message

Search returns a list of Investigators that match your location, specialty, and any filters you have applied. Each result card includes a contact action. Selecting it opens a message composer that is already addressed to that Investigator. From a public profile, the same action sits prominently on the page; see Contacting an Investigator from a public profile for the per-profile version.

What you need to send a first message

You must be signed in. If you do not yet have an account, the contact action prompts you to create one. Account creation is fast and uses the standard sign-up flow described in How to sign up and sign in. You can also sign in with Google (see Signing in with Google).

You do not need to publish a profile, fill out a long intake form, or pay anything to send a first message. The Investigator decides whether and how to engage from there.

What to write

Investigators get a lot of inbound. A specific message gets a response faster than a vague one. Useful elements to include:

• What kind of work you need (general nature only — surveillance, locate, background, document service).
• Where the work would happen, even at a city level.
• Roughly when you need to start.
• Whether you have a budget in mind, or whether you want a quote.

Do not include Subject names, addresses, or sensitive details in the very first message. You do not yet have an engagement, and the platform's confidentiality protections kick in once you and the Investigator move into a Case together. The first message is a handshake; the deeper detail comes after the Investigator confirms they can take the work.

What happens on the Investigator side

Your message lands in the Investigator's Messages area as a new thread, with a notification badge on their dashboard. They can reply directly, ask clarifying questions, or — if appropriate — invite you to a Case. Once they create a Case and invite you, the rest of the platform unlocks: shared Operations, shared Evidence, scheduled calls, signed documents through DocuVault. See Inviting a Client when creating a Case for the Investigator's side of that hand-off.

Reply expectations

Most Investigators reply within hours during business hours; some respond outside business hours for urgent intake. NearbySpy does not guarantee a response time on behalf of Investigators because every Investigator runs their own practice. If you have not heard back within a couple of business days, it is fine to message a different Investigator. You can keep multiple threads open while you decide.

Privacy

The first message is between you and the Investigator only. NearbySpy staff do not read individual threads. The conversation is protected by the same access controls that govern the rest of the platform. If you decide not to engage the Investigator, the thread persists in your Messages area until you remove it; the Investigator sees the same.

If you cannot send

If the contact action is missing or disabled on a profile, the Investigator may not be currently accepting new inquiries through NearbySpy. In that case, look at the next-best matches in the search results, or refine your filters. For broader help on how search ranks results, see How Investigator search and filters work.

Once you have a thread

Continued conversation is covered in Messaging your Investigator for ongoing Client use, and on the Investigator side in Messaging Clients.