diff --git a/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/WhisperServerService.java b/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/WhisperServerService.java
index 85d0e8036..8ce287f0d 100644
--- a/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/WhisperServerService.java
+++ b/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/WhisperServerService.java
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ public class WhisperServerService extends Application<WhisperServerConfiguration
     TurnTokenGenerator       turnTokenGenerator = new TurnTokenGenerator(config.getTurnConfiguration());
     RecaptchaClient          recaptchaClient    = new RecaptchaClient(config.getRecaptchaConfiguration().getSecret());
 
-    MessagePersister messagePersister = new MessagePersister(messagesCache, messagesManager, accountsManager, Duration.ofMinutes(config.getMessageCacheConfiguration().getPersistDelayMinutes()));
+    MessagePersister messagePersister = new MessagePersister(messagesCache, messagesManager, accountsManager, featureFlagsManager, Duration.ofMinutes(config.getMessageCacheConfiguration().getPersistDelayMinutes()));
 
     final List<AccountDatabaseCrawlerListener> accountDatabaseCrawlerListeners = new ArrayList<>();
     accountDatabaseCrawlerListeners.add(new PushFeedbackProcessor(accountsManager, directoryQueue));
diff --git a/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersister.java b/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersister.java
index 3dc8db775..fd8142083 100644
--- a/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersister.java
+++ b/service/src/main/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersister.java
@@ -28,9 +28,10 @@ import static com.codahale.metrics.MetricRegistry.name;
 
 public class MessagePersister implements Managed {
 
-    private final MessagesCache   messagesCache;
-    private final MessagesManager messagesManager;
-    private final AccountsManager accountsManager;
+    private final MessagesCache       messagesCache;
+    private final MessagesManager     messagesManager;
+    private final AccountsManager     accountsManager;
+    private final FeatureFlagsManager featureFlagsManager;
 
     private final Duration        persistDelay;
 
@@ -52,24 +53,29 @@ public class MessagePersister implements Managed {
 
     private static final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(MessagePersister.class);
 
-    public MessagePersister(final MessagesCache messagesCache, final MessagesManager messagesManager, final AccountsManager accountsManager, final Duration persistDelay) {
-        this.messagesCache            = messagesCache;
-        this.messagesManager          = messagesManager;
-        this.accountsManager          = accountsManager;
-        this.persistDelay             = persistDelay;
+    public MessagePersister(final MessagesCache messagesCache, final MessagesManager messagesManager, final AccountsManager accountsManager, final FeatureFlagsManager featureFlagsManager, final Duration persistDelay) {
+        this.messagesCache       = messagesCache;
+        this.messagesManager     = messagesManager;
+        this.accountsManager     = accountsManager;
+        this.featureFlagsManager = featureFlagsManager;
+        this.persistDelay        = persistDelay;
 
         for (int i = 0; i < workerThreads.length; i++) {
             workerThreads[i] = new Thread(() -> {
                 while (running) {
-                    try {
-                        final int queuesPersisted = persistNextQueues(Instant.now());
-                        queueCountHistogram.update(queuesPersisted);
+                    if (featureFlagsManager.isFeatureFlagActive("DISABLE_MESSAGE_PERSISTER")) {
+                        Util.sleep(1000);
+                    } else {
+                        try {
+                            final int queuesPersisted = persistNextQueues(Instant.now());
+                            queueCountHistogram.update(queuesPersisted);
 
-                        if (queuesPersisted == 0) {
-                            Util.sleep(100);
+                            if (queuesPersisted == 0) {
+                                Util.sleep(100);
+                            }
+                        } catch (final Throwable t) {
+                            logger.warn("Failed to persist queues", t);
                         }
-                    } catch (final Throwable t) {
-                        logger.warn("Failed to persist queues", t);
                     }
                 }
             }, "MessagePersisterWorker-" + i);
diff --git a/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterIntegrationTest.java b/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterIntegrationTest.java
index 714dc9cde..a6c078f2e 100644
--- a/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterIntegrationTest.java
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ public class MessagePersisterIntegrationTest extends AbstractRedisClusterTest {
         notificationExecutorService = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
         messagesCache               = new MessagesCache(getRedisCluster(), getRedisCluster(), notificationExecutorService);
         messagesManager             = new MessagesManager(messages, messagesCache, mock(PushLatencyManager.class));
-        messagePersister            = new MessagePersister(messagesCache, messagesManager, accountsManager, PERSIST_DELAY);
+        messagePersister            = new MessagePersister(messagesCache, messagesManager, accountsManager, mock(FeatureFlagsManager.class), PERSIST_DELAY);
 
         account = mock(Account.class);
 
diff --git a/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterTest.java b/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterTest.java
index a63b49dc2..4af7e66f3 100644
--- a/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterTest.java
+++ b/service/src/test/java/org/whispersystems/textsecuregcm/storage/MessagePersisterTest.java
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public class MessagePersisterTest extends AbstractRedisClusterTest {
 
         notificationExecutorService = Executors.newSingleThreadExecutor();
         messagesCache               = new MessagesCache(getRedisCluster(), getRedisCluster(), notificationExecutorService);
-        messagePersister            = new MessagePersister(messagesCache, messagesManager, accountsManager, PERSIST_DELAY);
+        messagePersister            = new MessagePersister(messagesCache, messagesManager, accountsManager, mock(FeatureFlagsManager.class), PERSIST_DELAY);
 
         doAnswer(invocation -> {
             final String destination                    = invocation.getArgument(0, String.class);