IMDPersistenceAgent running ~50% CPU

Been noticing my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014, running BigSur 11.1) CPU has been heating up quite quickly recently, activity monitor constantly has a process IMDPersistenceAgent at the top of the list using about 50% CPU. Quitting the process just leads it to start up again. I've read other support posts saying this is related to Messages but I don't use messages, iMessage is completely turned off.

Is there a way of completely turning it off? Would it be safe to delete the related folder in the system library? Is there other things I should try first? I realise it might not be the cause of my hot CPU but I'd still like to get rid of it if its using so much.

Thanks